True Strength
by Seven Benevolent Elephants
Summary: With the second giant war over, life attempts to carry on. However when Percy and Annabeth try to escape their world and immerse themselves in the mortals', things don't go quite how they expect. With new demigods, forgotten gods and unsuspected dangers; life may not be quite ready to resume as normal. Well... was it ever normal?
1. Prologue

**Disclaimer: I do not own the Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus, all rights belong to uncle Rick an any possible colleagues he may employ or work with.**

**Author's Note: All authors' notes shall be addressed at the bottom of the page.**

**Enjoy :)**

**Prologue**

It was a lovely day in Manhattan, the sun was sailing in the sky with the skyscrapers being lit up like the Apollo cabin in the summer. Birds were singing a variety of songs and the streets were busy with midday strollers. Everything was peaceful in the city that never sleeps-

"Hey you little brat, gimme back my wallet!"

-well… almost everything. Outside of a construction site with a cordoned off road, was a thin young boy about fourteen laying on the sidewalk, he had scraggly brown hair and a short figure. Over him stood a bald plump man in his early forties he was quite short and wore a high visibility jacket. He held the wallet which he had just claimed from the boy.

"What do you think you're doin'? Think you can steal my money?" yelled the builder

The boy glared at him with menacing blue eyes and the man recoiled slightly. Despite being taller and bigger then him, the man couldn't quite help but feel a slight sense of fear.

The builder held the boy's gaze and when he gave no reply the builder rammed his foot into the boy's stomach who gasped at the impact and curled into a protective ball. "Maybe that'll teach you not to try and steal people's things. Little runt" He muttered.

Grinning, the builder turned to walk back to the entrance of the site but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw two people standing in front of him. The first, with a glare across her face was a girl about ten with light golden brown hair. She had a fairly rounded slim face which would have been adorable, if she had a kinder expression. A few freckles lined the bridge of her nose but the most distinctive feature of the girl, was her piercing and very unnatural grey eyes. The second of the pair, standing slightly in front of the girl was a very tall and well-built guy in his late teens. He had an extremely intimidating look about him as he stared at the builder, he had an angular jaw and dark ash brown hair.

"Oh look who it is," the builder said, a nervous air about his speech now "Heh, the dynamic duo, here to save the damsel in distress." Gesturing toward the boy on the floor who had blood dripping from the side of his mouth.

The tall guy bent down and whispered something to the girl who nodded and ran past the builder to the boy on the floor.

"So… uh… he's with you then?" the builder asked the teen gingerly as he stood back up slowly, his brown eyes still unwavering from the man. A bead of sweat ran down the builder's neck.

"Yeah." Said the teen coldly.

"He tried to steal my wallet man, I had every right to kick him" said the builder pointing at the boy on the floor, the girl now crouched over him wiping his mouth. He pushed away her hands, still scowling. "Look man-" started the builder but was cut off by advancing teen.

"You had no right to kick him." snapped the teen and the builder backed away, his arm reached out and gripped onto the fence to his right and his back to the boy and girl. "You had every right to be angry however… How much money do you have?" he asked, a scowl etched into his face.

"Umm, like, forty dollars" answered the man a confused look on his face.

"Right and how much do you have now?"

The builder checked the wallet in his hand.

"Twenty six" stated the builder quietly. He rounded on the boy on the sidewalk who was smiling smugly but was stopped by a forceful hand on his shoulder.

The teen moved passed the man and stood over the boy with a stern face. The boy was no longer looking so smug. The teen held out his hand to the boy and without words, he handed the money over reluctantly. The teen glanced at the money and gestured his hand out to the boy again who sighed and handed over the last two dollars.

The teen then turned to the builder "Look, I'm sorry for the trouble we caused. Here's your money back." he handed the money to the builder who accepted it gratefully with an obnoxious glance at the boy. "Let's just pretend this never happened."

The builder turned to the teen who was around eight inches taller than him. "Well I'm glad somebody has some sense, unlike that little run-" He was cut off again by the teen who had grabbed him by the collar and pushed him against the fence.

"Don't push it." Said the teen angrily and he pushed the builder away from him down the street. The man stumbled but regained his balance, he straightened and worriedly glanced back at the trio before stalking away.

"You know we could have called the police" piped the girl as she and the boy stood up.

The teen sighed still watching the man as he turned the corner "I know 'Becca but we don't have a phone" he turned to face her, looking much more calm. "And last time we called the police, that rabid dog showed up and tried to chase us remember?"

"Too well." said the girl with a shudder.

The teen turned to the boy who was trying hard to not to meet the older boy's eyes "Look Shane, if you're going to keep doing this, things are just going to get worse than they already are, We can barely afford rent as it is, I don't want the owner to kick us out for causing trouble."

"Well it's not like you're doing anything to help us. Why didn't you just punch the guy? I bet he would've lost a tooth or two."

The teen rubbed the back of his neck. "If I attacked him we would be a lot worse off right now, and it's not like I didn't want to hit him."

"Well you should really start making better decisions then 'cause that guy deserved it."

"I swear you're so arrogant Shane... If we just attacked everyone who picked on us, then we would be in a heap of trouble, and it's not like we aren't already."

The conversation was getting progressively louder now and the girl looked on in dismay at the two.

"Just shut up! If I'd have never agreed to stay with you, life would be a lot better. I wouldn't have to listen to you all the time, always bossing us around. It's like you think you own us or something, well guess what?" Yelled Shane laughing to himself despite the completely humourless situation. "You don't!" And with that, he turned and stalked down the street in a similar fashion to the builder only a few moments previous.

The teen just stood there speechless, his mouth half open, waiting for a retaliation that would never come.

"We should go after him." The girl called Rebecca stated as Shane disappeared round a corner.

The teen took a deep breath and turned toward her his eyes filled with guilt. "I know, but there never seems like there's anything I can do no matter how much I try."

"Well I think you're doing a great job, Shane just needs time. You wait, he'll be back before you know it."

The teen smiled at her. "Thanks. We should get going, that guy's probably called the police by now." And with that, the two set off down the street.

* * *

Shane tore through the streets not caring about passers-by until he ran out of breath and he stopped by a signpost. Panting, he looked back to make sure no one was following him, no… he had taken to many turns for them to know where he was now.

He turned around and strode down the street awhile searching for a place of solitude and he came across an alley. He peered in and couldn't see anyone although it was pretty shaded. He cautiously stepped into the gloomy shelter and listened, gazing into the shadows.

Nothing.

Breathing a sigh of relief, Shane made his way to the brick wall at the end of the alley and sat down with his back against the wall.

'_I should never have agreed to live with those two.' _he thought to himself _'Maybe I can start a new life on the streets… yeah, then I won't be told what to do by anyone and I can do whatever I like.'_

Smiling to himself at the thought of a new life but then frowned when he thought of what had happened with the builder. He didn't think he could risk stealing again, especially if there were worse people than that builder around.

"Hey kid, what's up?" called a voice from above him.

Shane spun around searching for the person who had spoken and on top of the wall he saw a guy who was probably a year older than him, although he looked much older. He had unhealthily pale olive skin and long messy black hair. He wore an aviator jacket with a black t shirt underneath and black trousers.

Although he didn't seem to pose much of a threat Shane didn't quite feel at ease around him, especially with the way the shadows seemed to cling to him.

The two looked at each other for a moment and then Shane turned away. "Why would you care? Go back to… being a vampire or whatever you were doing" He replied.

"Hmph, the one time I actually try to look out for somebody and this is what I get." The vampire boy continued to grumble but Shane didn't quite catch the last few things he said.

They stayed in silence for some time, Shane lent back on the wall and stared off into the entrance of the alley wondering what his friends were doing know, if they were even bothering to look for him.

"Seriously, what's the matter?" The strange vampire dude asked.

"Nothing..." Another moment of silence in which the one atop the wall gave the younger boy a disconcerting look which made Shane feel as though the other guy could read minds.

"Don't bother lying." The pale boy slid down from the brick wall and crouched to face Shane. "Trust me, lies never get you anywhere, so tell me what's made you drag yourself into this place."

Heavily exhaling, Shane then began to describe the events that had recently transpired to a guy who he was not sure he trusted at all…

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed although I have no idea if it was any good and I apologise if it wasn't. I didn't really know whether this was the right length for a prologue and I have no clue as what the chapter lengths will be or should be.  
And don't worry, this story won't completely centre around these three numpties and will in fact involve other characters as you may have already seen. The next chapter will be all Percy.  
**

**In any case, any questions or queries that pop into your mind, feel free to ask in a review or PM me if you're feeling brave (don't worry, I don't bite... much).**

**Thanks for reading,**

**Have a beautiful day.**


	2. I should have stayed at camp

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own the Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus, all rights belong to Uncle Rick and any possible colleagues he may employ or work with.**

**Percy**

BEEP-BEEP, BEEP-BEEP

I woke up to the sound of my screeching alarm clock and I draped my arm wearily across to the nightstand to turn it off. Unfortunately my muscles seemed to be a bit unresponsive this morning and instead I knocked over the nightstand itself which crashed to the floor.

"Percy? What was that?" called my mother.

"Err… nothing." I said, not very convincingly.

I let my head drop face first into the pillow groaned. Don't get me wrong, my mother's the nicest person on earth but she's probably the second most person in the world I wouldn't want to be mad at me.

"Well can you get up please, or you'll be late for school." School? Ugh.

After about three minutes of attempting to heave myself up, the covers were suddenly flung off me and my mom stood over me, shaking her head.

"Come on, up."

"Fine." I murmured.

I dragged myself out of the bed and walked to the shower whilst my mom went to make breakfast. Boy let me tell you, as a son Poseidon, nothing beats a shower or a bath (except for blue cookies of course).

After the long awaited shower, I hoped out feeling refreshed and raring to go, got dressed and made my way to the living room. As I entered I couldn't help but be reminded of the toothless walrus that was Gabe, always leaving beer cans everywhere and those nauseating cigars. I grimaced at the memory.

Thankfully we had redecorated the house after he left, with light sea blue wallpaper and a new couch against the wall with a coffee table and TV. It was modest but still very homely. At the opposite end of the living room I could see the fire escape, on which in the small patch of earth stood the moonlace I had planted over a year ago.

"Honey, breakfast is ready."

"Coming." I replied

I followed the warm voice of my mom into the kitchen and found her sitting opposite me on the table with Paul (my stepdad) on her left. On the table lay a plate that lured me in with the sight and sugary smell of blue pancakes. Seriously, how does she make this?

As I sat and began enjoying the pancakes, Paul put down his newspaper and took a sip of coffee. He and my mom had gotten married over the summer which was both an odd and brilliant thing at the same time.

"You ready for the first day of school?" he asked me.

"As ready as I'll ever be I guess"

Heck, Annabeth and I got through Tartarus. I'm pretty sure I can manage high school.

After we finished breakfast, me and Paul got our things together and said goodbye to Mom.

"Bye sweetie." She said giving me a warm hug "Remember, no taking advantage of the other kids, especially in swimming." She ordered.

"Don't worry, I won't."

"And don't listen to any bullies." She told me, gripping my arm "They're a tenth of the man you are and have no idea what you've been through."

"Yeah okay mom." I answered, not wanting to be reminded of any painful memories and eager to be released from her vice grip.

She let me go and gave Paul a smooch on the lips (to which I told them promptly to get a room) and we left the apartment, went down the staircases to the car.

As we drove to the high school, Paul said to me, "Sally told me what you did over the summer. I want you to know I'm incredibly proud of you, but that doesn't excuse you from learning Shakespeare this semester however."

"I'm looking forward to it." I replied sarcastically.

You see Paul's not just my stepdad, he's also an English teacher at Goode. I know, fantastic isn't it?

We arrived outside Goode high and drove into the parking lot. We got out and walked toward the entrance, Paul pointed me to the left and I looked to see that an elementary and middle school phase of Goode had been built since I was last here. I saw a young girl with golden brown hair skipping toward the elementary school.

Paul waved goodbye, wished me luck on my first day and strolled off merrily to his classroom to get ready for the first lesson of the day.

I walked in through the double doors and thankfully there weren't many people in the hallway to stare at me, even so that didn't help the looks that two girls in the corner were giving me… definitely Empousai, I'll have to avoid them in the near future.

I walked down the corridor and found to my left, a door that lead to the reception, I knocked and walked in to pick up my lesson schedule. The first thing that hit me was the stench of perfume, wow, I doubt even the Aphrodite camper's use this much in a day.

Cringing, I walked up to the desk and asked the large woman on the computer with a head of scraggly hair, "Umm, excuse me, can I get my schedule here?" she gave me a yellowish toothy grin. Thankfully, the mist had been used to cover my absences and give me passes on most of my subjects for the previous year so I wouldn't have to spend longer explaining anything to her.

"Of course, what's your name dear?"

"Percy Jackson."

"Okay, here you go." She said, handing me a white piece of paper. "Have a nice day."

"Yeah, err, you too." Well she was creepy.

I left and checked my lessons for today, unfortunately it took a while for me to decipher it as the letters began moving. I must of looked like I was struggling because a teacher came over and asked if I needed any help, I told him no and probably went a bit red. I finally deciphered it and found that after home room I had math. Brilliant.

Thinking of maths suddenly reminded me that Annabeth was also attending Goode this year, I'd better go and find her. I sped up and turned the corner only to walk into a beefy guy about my height and sent him sprawling onto the floor. He had a buzz cut and a very square shaped head with a prominent nose.

His two shorter lackeys helped him up, they both had quite round faces and large bodies, they reminded me a little of Frank before his 'growth spurt'.

"What do you think you're doing you runt?" The one with the buzz cut asked and leaned in to me although he didn't look completely confident about it "You better watch yourself Jackson, one of these days you're going to-" He cut off looking beyond me with what looked like fright and then turned back to me and murmured "Lucky punk." Before hightailing it down the hallway.

I was wondering what an earth had just happened when someone tapped me on the shoulder. I turned to find the pair of stunning grey eyes and blonde hair that I was looking for.

Annabeth jumped toward me and gave me a bear hug that Tyson would be proud of.

"There you are! I've been looking for you for ages." She told me.

I beamed and returned the hug, taking in the sweet smell of lemons.

"Well I'm glad you're here. I've missed you so much since everyone went different ways."

"Percy, it's been like three days, but still that's really sweet."

We let go of our embrace and she noticed the schedule in my hand and swiped it from me turning her back to me to stop me taking it back. She scanned it doing that cute frown she does when she reads.

"Looks like we've both got home room and maths together." She said.

"You sound disappointed." I chuckled, wrapping my arms around her from behind and she laughed.

"Come on seaweed brain" She smiled and entwined her fingers with mine.

As we walked to our class we passed two teens arguing, one was pretty tall; probably 6'4 with dark brown hair, but despite his huge appearance and well-built stature, he didn't seem like any jock. The other was much shorter and probably a few grades below him, he also had brown hair but it was lighter and much messier.

As we passed them I caught some of their conversation.

"What were you thinking? Coming back at like ten in the evening and apologising, what where you even doing out for so long anyway?" Asked the taller guy.

"I don't know I just… met some dude and he was pretty cool."

"That's what they all are, don't tell me you went to his house or something."

"No, he wasn't like that. Look I'm sorry I was out so long and for shouting at you."

"No, I'm sorry for being such a douche these past few weeks…"

They're conversation slowly became inaudible as we rounded another corner. Weirdoes.

"I didn't know you were such a menace to the jocks." I told Annabeth.

"Yeah, well he tried to come on to me earlier."

"Oh really, what did you do?"

"Well I'll just say that he was running away from me when he bumped into you."

Eventually we came up to our home room and we stared at the door, ready to start high school after one hell of a summer, literally.

Annabeth looked at me, trying to read my thoughts. "Look, I know summer was pretty horrific but it's all over now. No more monsters, titans, giants or old sleepy head down there." She gestured to the floor.

"Yeah, you're right." She lent up to me and kissed me on the cheek and hand in hand, we entered our home room.

A voice greeted us as we entered. "Ah, Percy and Annabeth is it? I'm Mrs Dodds and I'll be your homeroom teacher."

* * *

**I've been a bit under the weather a bit recently and I've got GCSE's and all that jazz to do (yeah not the best time to start writing but hey) so I'm not sure how fast I'll be writing, especially with the poor exam papers. The education system in the UK is literally run by an evil Orang-utan on a typewriter. No joke, it's awful.**

**Anyways, thanks for the reviews: 'Me' I'd like to thank you for my first review ever, glad you enjoyed and I hope you like this one. Big up to 'SirPepsi' (whom I suggest everyone check out), thanks for the review and just being a stand-up guy. I know the wording is a bit incoherent at times but that's just how I write really, sorry. 'Guest' thank you for the 'lovely' review hope you enjoy this chapter as well.**

**Thanks for reading and see you in the next one,**

**Have a beautiful day. **

**Haben Sie einen schönen Tag.**

**Avoir une belle journée. **

**Mają piękny dzień. **

**Avere una bella giornata.**

**Ha en härlig dag.**

**Correct me if I'm wrong on any of these or if you know it another language, letting me know would be awesome.**


	3. We meet new faces

**Disclaimer: ****I do not own the Percy Jackson and the Olympians or the Heroes of Olympus, all rights belong to Uncle Rick and any possible colleagues he may employ or work with.**

**Percy**

"I'm Mrs Dodds and I'll be your home room teacher." Claimed the short Georgian woman from the other side of the room.

I stared in bewilderment at my old maths teacher who strode toward us across the classroom. The room itself was typically rectangular and had six rows of five desks, the walls were lined with vibrant displays from a variety of different classes. I glanced at Annabeth who seemed just as shocked as I was, her grey eyes were swirling with thoughts and undoubtedly full of questions.

Mrs Dodds reached us, her leather biker's jacket making her seem much more like the giant bat creature that she was concealing. She gestured a bony finger toward a desk on the far left of the room where we would hopefully be able to talk without being overheard by the other half of the room which was full of students chatting and thankfully not noticing us.

"I am here Perseus, not to kill you, but to protect you. The same goes for you as well Miss Chase." She stated when we arrived.

"You're what?" I asked dumbfounded.

Before Mrs Dodds could reply Annabeth interjected. "You're here to make sure any monsters don't come seeking revenge on us for killing their mistress."

"Yes, under instruction from Hades." Mrs Dodds replied.

I still didn't get it. "Why though? a couple of years back, you were chasing me down Manhattan, trying to tear me apart." My voice low as to not attract any unwanted attention.

"I am the moral judge of crimes and murder is one of my top priorities. I am tasked, and although I may not like it, with protecting you from monsters under the pretence of killing you to avenge their mistress."

"Since when has revenge become a crime?" I asked.

"It is more to do with the Hades' decision honey, not mine. Now if you would kindly take these start of year information letters," Alecto said, producing two small paper booklets. "And have a good first day back."

With that she smiled at us, a fire burning in her eyes and marched back to her large desk at the front of the classroom.

"Did you know about this?" I asked Annabeth who was looking through the booklet.

"No, but it's a welcome change that monsters aren't trying to kill us for once." She stated. "And Percy?"

"Yeah?"

"No joining the swim team."

I sighed. "You know, you sound just like my mom."

"Well I just don't want us to attract any attention to ourselves, I mean if you started breaking world records, I doubt you would be able to get a single peaceful moment for the rest of the school year."

"Yeah I know." I grumbled. "We can still go to the beach though, right?"

Her smile lit up her heavenly face. "Of course." She tucked part of her hair revealing the owl earrings which matched her grey shirt with a cartoon owl on the front.

The bell resonated throughout the school signalling the time to get to our first lesson of the day and probably my most hated. Me and Annabeth deposited the letters in our bags and set of together, hand in hand to maths.

We sauntered through the corridors pushing through dense crowds, through one corridor to our left I saw the same tall guy I saw earlier arguing with his younger friend. He trooped in the opposite direction parting the tiny (by contrast) students like Moses to the red sea.

After reaching our class the day seemed to go on way longer than usual. Maths went as you would expect, Annabeth aced it and impressed the teacher, Mr Cochran with her extensive knowledge of circle theorems and some other complicated stuff. I however didn't do quite as well…

"…excellent Miss Davis, now Mr Jackson could you give us the answer?" I only tuned in when I heard my name. Gazing at the electronic whiteboard, I attempted to make an assumption but I couldn't figure any of it out and dyslexia didn't exactly help.

"Umm no sir, I can't." I apologised.

"I'm sure you can, we've just done all the workings and if you just follow the end I'm sure you could work it out. No Miss Chase, I'm sure he's capable of doing it himself." He told Annabeth who had been looking eager to whisper the answer to me.

I'm pretty sure I turned bright red with embarrassment with everyone looking at me. Seriously, maths is probably worse than any monster that I've ever had to fight and that includes the evil Chihuahua at St. Louis.

"It's ninety five degrees sir." Came a haughty snigger from the back of the room. I turned to see a scrawny kid in the back row in a blazer and shirt with short greasy hair. He had a sort of- step anywhere near me and my father will sue you for everything you're worth- air about him.

"Yes Thomas, but I would have preferred that Mr. Jackson spoke." Said the teacher and although he hid it, there was no doubting the distaste in his voice.

"Well he obviously can't even tell a hexagon from a nonagon sir." I hated this kid. I knew though if I did anything to him, I wasn't going to benefit myself in anyway. This didn't stop my fists from turning as white as Nico though.

"Thomas, out." Stated Mr. Cochran flatly.

The snob named Thomas huffed, got out of his chair and grumbling, he made his way out of the room. The door closed, taking the tension with it.

After that I didn't really feel much like talking so I stayed silent and although Annabeth did try to start a conversation, she knew I wasn't really in the mood for it. She told me to ignore what he had said at not to let it get my head.

The day plodded along slowly and I got separated from Annabeth after math, she went to mechanics and I had marine biology. I loved the lesson but to be honest, I wasn't in the mood. That guy was right, I'm not the most intelligent guy ever. I mean Annabeth practically does all the thinking for me.

After biology I had social studies which was enjoyable, mainly because I got to take a nap, and the teacher didn't seem to mind, or she just didn't notice.

I didn't see Annabeth at lunch and although I didn't mind sitting on my own, it just gave me a bit too much time to myself if you know what I mean. My mom's words revolved around my head from this morning: _Don't listen to any bullies. They're a tenth of the man you are and have no idea what you've been through. _Easier said than done.

Finally I finished my last to lessons of art and technology and nearly blowing up a computer (trust me it was already broken), I finally got let out of school and welcomed the relief with open arms. Hoping to catch Annabeth in the corridors I speed walked out of tech and made my way to the front door, peering around and craning my neck to and fro hoping to catch sight of her. There!

She was leaning against some lockers, one of which I assumed was hers, and over her with his arm against the lockers next to her head, was none other than the same jerk who was in math with us this morning. I stormed toward them, eager to knock the guy's head off but before I could, Annabeth had jabbed him in the stomach.

He reeled over backwards clutching his stomach and spluttering foul words in response to Annabeth's fist. I could only stand, mouth agape at the unfolding situation. She scowled at him and said something which I was too far away to hear but it shut him up alright.

She then turned and seeing me, bounded toward me, eager to escape from the situation. She reached me looking frustrated but seemed a bit more cheerful now she was by my side, the feeling was mutual.

She moved her hand toward my mouth and closed it. "Look, he was asking for it, he was trying to come on to me and said that I should ditch you." Annabeth claimed, a legion of emotions clouding her eyes.

"Well it looks like you handled it pretty well, I mean if I were him, I wouldn't be coming near you for the next year." I laughed.

"Come on seaweed brain, let's get out of here." She smiled.

We walked out of the school together and the fresh air was a welcome change after being in such a stuffy environment. I looked around seeing cars picking children up from their schools and more trying to evade them in attempt to get where they wanted to go. It was hectic, but what I call home.

"Hey Percy, look over there…" Annabeth directed, pointing toward the bottom of the steps where a young girl with light brown hair was patiently waiting and peeking at the crowd coming out of the doors. "She looks lost, do you think we should help her?"

"Well I'm guessing she's waiting for someone to come out of here to take her home so I doubt she needs any help." I replied wanting to get home.

"Maybe, but I don't feel right leaving her here like this. Come on let's go say hello at least." And dragging me along, Annabeth walked toward the young girl.

"Excuse me, you're not lost are you?" Annabeth asked the girl when we made it beside her and she turned toward us. Annabeth stifled a gasp and I looked over her shoulder to see what had happened.

She wore a knitted bobble hat, purple t-shirt, skinny jeans and rucksack that hung lightly of her shoulders. Her face was rounded and freckles lined the bridge of her nose. Even if you weren't an aunt or grandmother, she had cheeks that you just wanted to reach out and do that weird shaky thing. Unfortunately, that wasn't what Annabeth had gasped at…

Her eyes. They were gray, and not just that gray that people with light blue eyes claim to have either, the gray that I had come to love over the past few years. Annabeth's gray.

"No, I'm not lost, just waiting for someone." She told us smiling warmly.

Annabeth looked too stunned to talk so I took over for her. "Well that's good, we were worried that you were."

"I don't get lost very often, I know my way around for at least nine blocks from here. There's a McDonalds down there" She pointed to the right, two blocks down and then a left." She nodded sounding pleased with herself and smiling up at us. "I think we get to go there today." She stated, excitement ringing from her voice.

"Wow, I bet not many kids your age know your age know that." I answered her.

"I don't know, my teacher's says she likes me but I think she's a bit scary. Don't tell her I said that though." She replied in a business-like manner.

"Don't worry, I won't." I laughed.

We stood there in silence, Annabeth fiddling with the bottom of her t-shirt and eyeing the small girl who stood contently smiling to herself. She looked at me, then beyond me and her eye's widened and she sprang forward, dodging past me.

"Hey champ," Came a baritone voice from behind us. We turned to see a tall teen probably the same age as us although he looked older. He was the same guy I'd seen earlier, parting the sea of students and arguing with that scraggly haired kid.

He wore a white V-neck with iconic landmarks imprinted on it, dark blue jeans and red converse. He had quite a chiseled face with distinctive features like his over encumbering brown eyes. He bent down and hugged the advancing girl.

"Sorry I'm a bit late, I got held up in math." He apologized with not quite American accent, possibly European.

"That's fine, I met some new friend when I was waiting." She gestured toward us. "But I don't know their names though." Sounding a bit downcast.

"That's fine." He replied kindly, standing up and looked at us with a slight stoic look forming on his face. He seemed to be studying me in particular though.

"Hi I'm Percy," I said extending my hand, which he shook with a strong grip and a big hand. "And this is-"

"Annabeth." He finished for me and I was about to ask how he knew her name when Annabeth herself explained.

"Don't worry Percy, he's in my mechanics class. He's pretty good at it as well."

"Erm, thanks but nowhere as good as you though. I didn't know half of that stuff about linear and rotational dynamics you were talking about." He dismissed. "I'm Jesse by the way and this cutie here is Rebecca." The girl frowned at him playfully.

"Nice to meet you man." I replied

"Yeah you too, and uh, sorry but we've got to be getting home now. I'll see you guys tomorrow?"

"Sure."

And with a smile from the pair they turned away and walked down the street. From afar we could see the girl pulling down on his arm and pleading, "Are we going to go to McDonalds?" and the teen hoisted her up into a piggy back.

"If you're good." He replied.

I looked at Annabeth grinning at the two's antics but she didn't seem quite as amused.

"Percy… her eyes."

"Yeah I know, but we don't know for sure so we'll have to keep a watch on things. In the meantime however, I'm in the mood for some Pizza. Care to join me?"

"I wouldn't miss it for the world seaweed brain." And with that we set of to find the nearest pizza restaurant.

**Was that too long? I think it was too long. **

**Thanks everyone for the reviews; 'PliPla' I'm very happy you like it and I'd hope this chapter meets you're expectations. 'SapphireNuttellaPanda' it means a lot that you like it and I hope I can keep coming up with more stuff you like. 'Jimsdale' I hope my explanation makes sense, Alecto judge's crimes and she and her sisters were deities of vengeance so it kind of works I guess.**

**Thanks for reading everyone. Hope you enjoyed and as always,**

**Have a beautiful day.**

**Haben Sie einen schönen Tag.**

**Bonne journée.**

**Mają piękny dzień.**

**Avere una bella giornata.**

**Ha en härlig dag.**

**Que tengas un bello día.**

**Thanks again to 'PliPla' and 'SapphireNutellaPanda' for helping me with the French and Spanish respectively. Thanks you two :)**


	4. We meet old faces

**Disclaimer: Still think I own Percy Jackson do you? Still think I own Heroes of Olympus? If I did I assure you, there would be so many more plot twists courtesy of watching Arrow. Seriously there's like forty in half an episode.**

**I'm doing three chapters in perspective of one character so it will be someone else next time.**

**Percy**

"Look let's just go there, I'm sure it's as nice as the last twenty we've passed." I told Annabeth.

We sat on a bench in the middle of a marble floored eating area after having walked through the streets for about a half hour now, trying to decide which restaurant we should choose. I had gotten a bit annoyed after she declined most of them and I was too hungry to pass up another opportunity.

"Fine then. I'm telling you though, we could go to a much nicer restaurant than this." Annabeth sighed.

"That's what you said every other time." I chuckled. "Now let's go, I could eat a hydra."

"Percy that's impossible."

"I thought my chances of being your boyfriend were impossible, yet here we are."

She couldn't help but smile at that and her hand slid into mine. She turned her head and looked straight into my eyes and beamed.

"I love you seaweed brain."

"I love you too wise girl." And with that we both leaned in and kissed. I could smell the lemon fragrance in her hair and feel the soft brush of her lips on mine.

We sat there for a moment taking each other in without having to worry about anything, it was just the two of us here and nothing else mattered.

Then my stomach grumbled. Annabeth frowned at me. "Well mister Casanova, it sounds as though someone is hungry."

"Yeah." I nodded a little embarrassed.

With that we stood up and crossed the road to quaint Italian restaurant that seemed to throw the smell of freshly cooked pasta at you. I opened the windowed oak door for Annabeth to which she thanked me and entered. I followed closely behind and took in the sight of the small shop.

It was a fairly narrow but long restaurant that had small tables for two lined up in columns at the back. To our left a rectangle of sunshine cascaded over a counter at which a small, portly man in a white shirt and a black sleeveless jacket was crouching in front of a cupboard organising plates.

"Excuse me sir." Annabeth called over the counter.

The man turned and stood with a jolly look on his face. "Ah good afternoon signorina. What could I do for the two of you?" He asked politely with an Italian accent.

"Could I have the… cannelloni salad please?" Annabeth asked, looking up at the menu.

"Most certainly, and what will you be having signore?" He said turning to me.

I looked to the menu over our heads which was a green board written over with chalk. I scrolled through the pizzas they offered and decided upon peperoni.

"Of course. If you could find yourselves a seat wherever you like, I will be over with the dishes shortly." The waiter told us with a big smile. He was much nicer than that waiter in Rome.

"Thank you." Replied Annabeth.

We turned and made our way across the restaurant and found a nice looking table for the two of us by the wall. I pulled out my monster-free phone after sitting down and text my mom to tell her I would be having dinner with Annabeth. I looked up and Annabeth seemed to have had the same idea.

As we waited for our meal to arrive, we started recalling previous adventures we had been on and how it all seemed to start with us and Grover in the back of an animal transport van. A couple of mortals gave us scrutinising looks as a result of this but we didn't care. Not long after, our meal arrived and I began to chow down on my Pizza and ordered a coke along with it. Annabeth had some weird pasta concoction that seemed to have more colours than a rainbow. She looked as though she enjoyed it however.

"Percy," She began after a short time. "I'm wondering about that girl, Rebecca. Do you think she could be…?" She tailed off.

"I really don't know. She sure sounded like a sister of yours but still, we can't be sure."

"Maybe we should contact someone at camp and at least keep them posted on her." Annabeth suggested.

"Maybe, yeah. But what about her brother? You don't think he's one of us as well do you?"

"Not a child of Athena I don't think. He doesn't look like any of the gods either so possibly not."

"Well if he isn't, what's he going to say if we take his sister to camp? I doubt he'd be pleased about it." I told her.

"I don't know Percy." Said Annabeth, she looked annoyed about not knowing so we finished the rest of our meal in silence, pondering over what to do.

After my last slice had been finished, we went over to the counter and I paid the kind man behind it who in turn thanked us for coming with a cheery smile lighting up his face. As we exited the restaurant a question popped into my head.

"Annabeth, where are you staying?"

"In a small apartment not too far from yours." She replied.

"You could've come to stay with us you know. I'm sure mom and Paul would happily have you."

"No it's fine really, and don't worry I'll come to visit every once in a while."

I grinned happily at this as we ambled to her house. It was getting a bit late now and the sun was gingerly peeking out over the top of a few houses in front of us. The road was still lined with traffic, even for a Wednesday evening people were still rushing to get home. There was a small argument going on between two drivers on the other side of the road who I assumed had bumped into each other whilst driving.

As we passed a side street an all too familiar voice called out. "Hey guys! Come here a sec." We turned to find none other than Nico standing at the threshold of the street staring intently at us.

"Nico! What are you doing here, I thought you went travelling?" Questioned Annabeth looking surprised.

"I did." He replied. "But then I felt this strange presence in Manhattan so I decided to check it out. I'm not sure if I found it or not, but I met this kid who I think could be a demigod."

"Oh really?" I asked. "We could tell you the same thing. Who was it?"

"It was this kid with messy brown hair and blue eyes. He told me his name was Shane and he goes to Goode like you guy's but he's in his freshman year." Nico Explained. "I think he might be a child of Hermes."

"Well we met a girl named Rebecca who could be a sister of Annabeth's"

"Wait… Rebecca?" Nico paused. "Shane lives with the same girl I think."

"Two demigods living in the same place? That seems unlikely." Annabeth Stated.

"Was she with a tall guy called Jesse?" Nico asked quickly.

"Yeah, she was." I answered.

"Okay, well we're definitely talking about the same people then." Said Nico. "I think I might take a trip to camp and tell Chiron about these two. Could you guys keep an eye on them and try to figure out if they really are demigods?"

"Of course we can." Annabeth replied. "We just don't know what to do if Jesse doesn't turns out to be a demigod and we can't take him to camp with his sister."

Nico gave it a moment's thought and looked at the two of us. He still looked as pale as the last time I saw him but looked a little less gaunt. I'm happy the guy has finally got some rest after the war, he really deserved it.

"We'll figure out once we're sure on if they are demigods or not. I'm sure Chiron will know what to do." He said.

"I sure hope so." I replied with a sigh.

"Yeah, I'll see you guys soon. Enjoy your umm… date thing." Finished Nico shuffling his feet. He waved, turned into the shadows and melted into them after walking a few steps.

Thinking, we continued on until we reached Annabeth's apartment building which turned out to only be two streets down from mine.

"Well it's been an eventful day." I said as she stood before the door, the light reflecting beautifully from her restless grey eyes.

"It has… I'll see you tomorrow then?"

"Yep, shall I come by yours so we can walk to school together?"

Annabeth laughed. "As if. You'll be late as usual so don't worry, I'll be at your apartment by eight."

"Alright then, see you tomorrow."

"Yeah and thanks for dinner Percy, it was great." She said as she pecked me on the lips. Then with a smile she turned and walked through the door way, closing the door with a light click behind her.

I stood in silence for about a minute just staring at where she had been before turning away to walk home. Smiling broadly to myself I reached my apartment, ready for the coming day.

* * *

**I really had no idea what I was doing with this chapter, I just kind of let my imagination go wild. I'm a little stuck on ideas though. Before I started writing the prologue I knew exactly how it would start, what it would include and how it will end. It's just the middle details that I have to fill in now.**

**I have a maths exam tomorrow and chemistry the day after so not much will be happening the next two days, sorry :(**

**I'd really like to thank all of you guys for the reviews and everything, it's been wonderful to hear from all of you. 'Jimsdale' 0.0 how you got that from one chapter is unreal. I was a little inspired by Clementine in the making of Rebecca I will admit. 'Me' (Assuming you're the same person who gave the first review) thanks a lot for the continued support it means so much. I had a lot of fun making Rebecca and if you like her now then I've got plenty in store for you next chapter ;). 'SirPepsi' my main man, thanks for everything comprised in those two reviews, I will try and limit the use of commas and make my wording clearer :). 'CreCra' Way ahead of you. Hope you enjoy :P**

**Thanks for reading everyone and again,**

**Have a beautiful day.**

**Schönen Tag noch.**

**Avez-vous une bonne journée.**

**Mają piękny dzień.**

**Abbiate una buona giornata.**

**Ha en härlig dag.**

**Que tengan un buen día.**


	5. A great way to start the day

**Disclaimer: I think you get the idea by now don't you? I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus, nor am I affiliated with them in any way. Enjoy :)**

**Jesse**

Now normally I don't have nightmares, but when I do they're really terrifying.

I was running through a valley dotted with trees and strange looking buildings, it was night and the moon was hidden by some oddly black clouds. In the distance was a tall hill with a lonely pine tree that had a large and rather peculiar looking lump moving next to it. To my left was a volleyball court- which seemed like a sweet idea but now didn't feel like the time. Then I saw a large three storey building with a pointed roof painted sky blue, it had a porch with deck chairs and stairs leading up to it. It would have been a nice sight if hadn't been for the raging fire spreading over it.

The huge structure of flames licked the wooden posts like a dog would a bowl of water, crackling and devouring everything in its path. I stood with my mouth open, simply in awe at the horrific sight. People ran past me with buckets of water eager to douse the leaping flames, it didn't seem enough. I heard piercing screams from behind me and turning, I saw a group of (mostly) gorgeous girls who were panic stricken with the sight of their seemingly beloved building in flames.

There was a few metallic robot things crawling along the ground towar the fire and dousing the flames with small jets of water, but there didn't seem to be a way to stop the flames as kids threw heaps of water onto the fire in pure desperation. Everything was in panic. It felt like the end of the world. It felt like-

"Jesse, wake up." -like I should wake up, yeah… Wait, what?

"Jesse." Came a whisper as my environment began to dim. "Jesse wake up."

I slowly opened my eyes, blinking away the remnants of the dream. I lay on a dark blue sofa with my head resting on a cushion, in front of me was a window that yielded a picturesque view of central park. The window was surrounded by a cream wall that lead to a hall to the left and a kitchen to the right. I sat up, aching all over. Next time I take the bed, I concluded.

"Morning Jesse-bear." Came the same whisper as before, it was warm and mellifluous and spread comfort to all it reached.

Turning to my left I found Rebecca, kneeling on the corner of the sofa smiling up at me and I couldn't help but smile back. She wore light purple bunny pyjamas that really reflected her personality.

"Morning," I replied a bit too hoarsely. "You sleep okay?"

"Mmm, not really. I had this really horrible nightmare and Shane was chasing me for putting a bug under his pillow."

"Well, did you?"

She paused, looking blankly at the wall. "Maybe…"

Laughing, I looked her over and she seemed famished. "I bet you're hungry aren't you?"

"Very." She replied looking hopefully at me with those big grey eyes. They were a strange colour but after meeting Annabeth, I guess they weren't as uncommon as I thought.

"Okay then, I'm really feeling some bacon at the minute. How about you?"

She nodded excitedly. "And eggs? And can we have toast and beans as well?"

"You're the boss." I told her.

I stood, stretching out and touching the ceiling (which wasn't really a difficult feat at my height). I then strode over to Shane's bedroom door, knocked and told him to wake up. There were only two bedrooms in our apartment, one for Shane and another for Rebecca.

I turned back around and the two of us walked into the kitchen. It was fairly small kitchen, with a counter and stools for eating and all your necessities like a stove, fridge and the forever handy sink.

Rebecca pulled up a stool and sat patiently at the counter as I began pulling necessary things from the cupboards. When everything was gathered, I flicked on our old radio and began cooking and moving to ABC by Michael Jackson, Rebecca grinned and also began swaying to the music.

After everything was fried, cooked and toasted, I sliced the three bits of toast in half and dropped them onto three plates along with the rest of the food. I took out a big tomato and began cutting it into slices as Shane walked into the kitchen drowsily, he took a seat on the end of the counter.

I put the tomatoes on the plate and the brought the plates over with the knives and forks and sat down in between the two. Shane began shovelling down his food before I could say go and Rebecca began to laugh as bean juice fell on his white shirt.

"Anyone need the shower after this?" I asked.

"No, I went last night." Rebecca answered. Shane just shook his head, a slice of bacon dangling out his mouth.

"Glad you enjoy my cooking." I laughed.

Shane chuckled. "Well you may be the most annoying excuse for a parent in the world, but you make some pretty mean dishes."

After we finished our breakfast, I hopped in the shower and after, dressed into my usual white shirt and jeans combination. School started in fifteen minutes and we usually took ten getting there so now was the time to go. After brushing my teeth and yelling at everyone to get ready we were out the door pretty quickly, Shane tended to slope off by himself to and from school so we didn't walk with him usually.

"Well Becca, looks like it's just you me again." I told here as we walked into the busy streets of New York.

"I don't mind, you're fun to walk with." She beamed holding my hand tightly.

We had to jostle past more than one person on our trek to school, mostly they were all business people on their way to work. Our apartment wasn't exactly close to the school so walking was a bit annoying first thing in the morning, but it was nice to get outside anyway.

"So what lesson have you got first?" I asked Rebecca, she looked down thoughtfully.

"I think I have art, but we don't really learn anything. We just draw whatever we want."

"Oh right, do you like art?"

"Yeah it's quite fun. The boys in my class are a bit silly though, they always draw stickmen with guns and don't do anything in the lesson."

"That's basically what I do in art lessons now." I responded with a shrug and she laughed.

Our walk continued in a similar fashion until we got to our schools, luckily Goode had Elementary up to high school buildings so we didn't have to go to different schools altogether. We reached the elementary building and I crouched down to say goodbye.

"Alright Becca have a nice day." I said, adjusting her rucksack.

"I will, you have good day as well." She answered, wrapping her arms around me in hug which I returned gladly.

"I'll meet you out here when school's over okay?"

"Yeah, okay." Rebecca pulled out of the hug smiling. She then turned and walked into the doors to her school and disappeared in a swarm of kids.

Exhaling, I turned and crossed the road to my school and striding up the steps to the double doors. I had English first with a Mr Blofis which was bound to start anytime now. I walked through the dull coloured hallway making sure to keep an eye out for Shane. Yeah I know I act like I don't really care about him sometimes but I do, he just needs space sometimes.

As I walked to the end of the corridor the bell went, signalling the start of lessons so I made my way to the stairs and began my ascent. I reached the top and headed down the English corridor until I came to room 46, Mr Blofis' room. I entered and was met with a cheery 'Hello' from Mr Bolfis, I was the first to the class surprisingly so I returned the greeting and took a seat at the back of the room.

I began wondering over what that dream I had this morning had been about. I was sure that I had never been to the place in the dream before and I doubted I could conjure up a vivid image like that from scratch, but what was it then?

Slowly the traffic of students began milling into the classroom and a group of girls walked in, and started staring at me all beady eyed and sat down on the left side of the room whispering. I don't get it, I've been going here like two years now it's not like I'm new or anything.

"Hey man, I haven't seen you in a while." Came a familiar voice to my right and I turned to see a lanky African-American guy standing over me, I grinned at the sight of him. He had very short hair, dark brown eyes and a lean face.

"Trey dude, how've you been?" I asked, standing up and giving him a bro hug, he was an inch taller than me and the tallest in our grade.

"Pretty awesome," He replied. "Coach says next year I'm in line for college basketball and a scholarship at Connecticut." Trey was looking to join the NBA after college, Basketball was literally his life at the minute.

"You serious?"

"Yeah, I can't wait to get to college now." He stated with a smile on his face. "How're you doing? I haven't seen Rebecca in a while."

"Pretty good." I replied as we took a seat. "First day was pretty slow but Rebecca seems to be enjoying it."

Trey has been my friend for a while now, although we met under pretty odd circumstances. He had been part of the gang of school bullies in ninth grade and had frequently picked on me, but one day he stood up for me when no one else would and we've been close friends ever since. After a quick catch up the lesson started and Mr Blofis started the register.

"Tyler Adams?"

"Here sir." Replied a dry voice from the other side of the room.

I tuned out for a bit and looked at Trey. "What do we have next?" I asked in a whisper.

"Umm, I think we have PE. Apparently Mr Parker wants us to do boxing." Mr Parker was the head of PE and our teacher this year.

"Fantastic." I replied sarcastically.

Trey smiled at me knowingly. "Try not to overdo it, we know what you're like when you're angry." He did a hulk impression, imitating ripping off his shirt.

I stifled a laugh, we did wrestling the previous year and I came up against a seventeen stone guy who thought he owned the ring. Unfortunately I gained a reputation as the bad boy of the school after I knocked him unconscious after the within the first minute (unintentionally of course).

"Percy?" Called out Mr Blofis, still going through the register. I craned my neck and saw Percy a few seats to my right. I didn't see Annabeth anywhere however.

"Yes sir." Answered Percy smiling.

After a couple more names were called out he finally got to mine and paused with a frown on his face. I was a bit anxious to say the least, I got a lot of laughs whenever my name came up on the register. You may be thinking something like 'Wait a minute, Jesse isn't a weird name.' but Jesse isn't actually my name. Well it is, it's just the School decided to use my middle name instead.

"B-Bjorn Nystrom?" Said Paul, looking out for the owner of the name and fair few of people had to hide their laughter. One particular greasy haired kid didn't do a good job of this however. That was Thomas Whittaker, the 'big man' of the school although he was pretty short and only held that title due to his exceedingly rich family.

I waved my hand in the air catching his attention. "Hi sir, umm, it's pronounced 'Björn' with a y instead of a j and I prefer Jesse.

"Okay, thanks." Paul smiled and turned back to his laptop, I sunk down in my chair.

Somehow I get the feeling today wasn't going to be as fun as I originally planned it to be…

**Sorry for the wait everyone, it's been a bit of a busy week. Hope you're all enjoying the world cup, I know I am; can't wait for England v Italy. It's in like five minutes :0**

**I know the story is a bit slow paced at the minute and I apologise if you are a little agitated by that.**

'**Me' I forgot to mention about that apartment thing last time so… thanks for basically ruining my entire plotline, god the nerve of some people. Oh and thanks for the continued support and everything it means a lot! 'Sir Pepsi' I get the feeling I may have translated these a bit too directly from English so thanks a lot for correcting them, good thing I have a fabulous linguist as a reviewer :P 'Poetry Pokémon' I'm very glad you enjoy it, hope you enjoy this one as well :)**

**Stay awesome everyone and thanks for reading, **

**Have a beautiful day.**

**Schönen Tag noch.**

**Avez-vous une bonne journée.**

**Miłego dnia.**

**Abbiate una buona giornata.**

**Ha en härlig dag.**

**Que tengan un buen día.**

आप का दिन अच्छा बीते**.**


	6. Things go from bad to worse

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson or… actually never mind, carry on.**

**Jesse**

"Everyone! Today we will be studying the Macbeth by Shakespeare." A collective groan came from the majority of the class at Mr Blofis' idea. "Don't worry, it's much better than it sounds. I'll come around and give copies to all of you but you may have to share, there isn't enough to go round."

Another groan. "Hey umm, Jesse?" Came a voice to my left and I turned to see a girl with a shock of bright blonde hair and blue eyes. If I remember correctly, her name was Lucy.

"Yeah?" I replied wondering what she had to say.

"Well I'm throwing a party this weekend at my house on Saturday for the start of a new year, do you want to come?"

I thought for a moment; while the idea of free drinks and a good time were enticing, it's not like I could leave Rebecca and Shane by themselves. I did trust them yeah but I just didn't want anything bad to happen whilst I was gone.

"I don't think I can really, sorry." I answered.

"Oh," Lucy said with a frown. "Well if you change your mind here's my address and the time, oh and invite Trey for me will you?" She said handing me two small pieces of paper smiling.

"Yeah sure."

"Great!" She chirped and turned away from me. "Hey Percy…"

I turned to Trey as he accepted a copy of the tempest from Mr Blofis and gave him one of the slips which he accepted with a confused face.

"Lucy, she's having a party at her house." I told him.

"Oh cool," He studied my face for a second. "You're not going are you?"

"Probably not."

"You know you should trust them sometimes, I'm pretty sure they won't burn the apartment down."

"Maybe..." I responded, considering the idea of letting Shane and Rebecca stay in the apartment by themselves.

"Okay everyone," Called Mr Blofis who had now calmed an argument between two students who didn't want to share. "If you turn to page 6, we will start reading. I want you all to pay attention to what the witches in particular say and take notes on what they could foreshadow."

Mr Blofis began reading the first act and the lesson progressed pretty slowly, what did annoy me though was the fact that me and Trey had to share a copy of the book. Now when you want two guys who are well over six foot to huddle over a small book on a desk, you should know that an argument is likely to start over foot and shoulder space.

The rest of the lesson went without a hitch though and the bell went signalling the end of it. I hopped up from my seat and followed Trey out the door to PE. We travelled down the dull cream coloured corridors, pushing through the multitude of younger students going the other way to us.

After getting to the other side of the school, we came to the sports hall where a boxing ring was set up on one half and a few mats on the other, a long green curtain being drawn out to divide the two. A couple of guys were already here and were searching for our teacher.

"Alright boys?" Called Mr Parker from the other side of the hall, closing a door he had just come through.

"Yeah sir, you?" Replied one of the other guys with a thick head of sandy brown hair.

"Yeah I'm good." Said Mr Parker, jogging toward us. He was a lean guy a bit above average height, he was very dark of face and had bags under his eyes. "Now, if you want to go and get changed into your PE gear in the changing rooms and meet me out here with everyone else."

He was a really nice guy and had been my teacher for two years now but on occasion, he could be a bit overbearing.

We left the hall and turned left to the changing rooms and found everyone else in there. It was a pretty dull room with a blue floor and white walls, benches with hangers above them ran through the middle of the room and lined the walls. There was a doorway leading to showers on our right and one for toilets further down. Conversation reverberated through the room.

Unfortunately we had uniform for PE which consisted of a white polo with the schools logo on it and dark blue shorts. We picked part of the new benches and put down our stuff to get changed.

"Oi Jesse! You ready to get pummelled?" I turned to see Mark Smith, a beefy guy with a buzz cut who was probably the most dim-witted guy in the school and renown for starting unnecessary fights, he acted as though he had something against the world.

"If that means you'll end up like you did last year then sure." I was forced by his parents to quit the football team last year after dislocating his shoulder in a tackle. Weird thing was, he was the tackler.

Mark stayed silent and turned, grumbling to his two large friends who were just as bad as him but with half the intelligence. Trey turned to me after the short encounter with slight shocked expression on his face.

"Hey man, check Percy out." He whispered nodding toward where he was changing.

I rolled my eyes but glanced across the room to Percy who was looking pretty ripped, but then I noticed a few scars across his back that didn't look like they were from any old bike crash, I'll have to ask him about those later.

After we got changed we all went to the sports hall and met up with Mr Parker who informed us that the girls had no space outside and had to do their gymnastics on the other side of the hall. There was a mixed reception to this as he gathered us in the ring to start the lesson.

"Right, now then everyone this lesson is about boxing as you may have already guessed. I've bought a load of new mouth guards for you to use," He indicated a pile of packets to his right next to the door. "Just put them in the hot water in a sink in the changing room and then chomp down on them to let them mould to your teeth."

He carried on, talking about safety precautions and told us we wouldn't be doing any actual fights today; just stance, punches and blocks. He told us to get into pairs and showed us where to aim and of course, where not to aim. The girls came in and quickly crossed the room to the other side and behind the curtain before any wolf whistles could be made. I saw Annabeth there as well who was smiling at Percy.

The end of the curtain parted in the middle of one of his lectures and Mrs Grant, the girl's teacher, walked across the hall and asked Mr Parker to come with her. He told us to keep practicing footwork and left with her in deep conversation.

"Royal rumble anyone?" Asked the kid with the sandy brown mop jokingly.

"Nah, I'm thinking a one on one." Stated Mark, no one seemed to agree on this one. "Jesse you're the biggest guy here, want to take anyone on?" He said almost a bit too eagerly.

"Not particularly." I said dryly.

"Trey, you feeling like fighting?" Mark asked.

"With this guy?" He said pointing to me. "I'm good man." He hopped back out the ring and a lot of others followed his example. It was just me, Mark and Percy who didn't really seem to be paying attention to anything at the moment. Great.

I turned to walk out the ring when Mark stopped me with a laugh. "Come on Nyström, you're not backing out are you? Maybe I'll have to fight your little girlfriend instead, what's her name, Rebecca?" He asked laughing. "I swear she's like ten." A couple of others laughed as well.

That really struck a nerve, I try not to mention this a lot but I've had a history with bad temper control. This was no exception. I turned back and stormed over to Mark and grabbed him by the collar, lifting him off the ground which didn't seem an easy feat seeing as he weighed well over fourteen stone.

"You just try and say something about her again Mark, then we'll see what happens." I stated aggressively.

"Look man I'm sorry really! I didn't mean anything by it, just a joke you know." He yelled, seemingly scared out of his wits. Thinking he had atoned, I released my grip on his collar slightly. Big mistake.

As soon as he saw the opportunity to escape, he grinned threateningly and lashed out with his boot which landed straight between my legs. With a gasp of pain I fell into a crouch, curling into a ball and feeling as though my internal organs were being violently rearranged. Mark took this time to swing a punch and it collided with the side of my head.

I stumbled backwards still in a crouch, my vision blurred. I managed to keep my balance and fell onto my knees. My head was spinning at breakneck speeds and I couldn't focus on anything.

"Damn I've been waiting to do that for a while." He hollered with no small amount of vigour.

I heard some scuffling and tilted my head slightly to see Percy get intercepted by Mark's two sumo wrestler friends. They pinned him to the ground and Trey had tried to enter the ring as well but was being held back by someone. I wanted to take Mark's head off so badly right now but I was paralysed.

Mark ran up to me and took another swing with his leg hard, right into my midriff. What air was left in me completely vanished in an instant and the pain in my stomach far from subsided. I recoiled and rolled over onto my side coughing, my insides burning and my head throbbing.

I heard a yell from the other side of the room and the girls poured out from the other side. I heard the door slam and assumed someone had gone to get help. I heard the muffled shout of someone swearing at Mark whose reaction I didn't see. Then I heard his footsteps drawing closer to where I was laying.

"Too bad you're parents aren't around to do anything to help you, even if they were I doubt they'd care much for a failure like you." He uttered into my ear so that only I could hear, he stood a turned back laughing.

That was it. I was really going to hurt this guy. The pain subsiding for the moment, I sat up with a groan and my hands clutching the ground. I felt my blood boiling, as though it was going to burst out of me. Slowly but surely I stood facing Mark who had turned around and looking slightly pale.

I couldn't move forward, despite the urge to tear his limbs off it would take too much energy.

"Ha," Mark laughed a little unconvincingly. "Look at you, you can barely stand. How about help you sit back down?"

He moved toward me, aiming his left arm toward my head. I didn't think I could move in time but suddenly with agility that surprised even me, I twisted to the right and out of the way of his fist. All I saw was his jaw completely open, waiting to be struck.

I drew my fist back and threw it upwards toward his chin.

Mark's head snapped backward and he stood there for a second, completely still, gazing up at the ceiling without seeing. Then he fell, he hit the ground with a resonating thump and didn't move.

For a while everyone's gaze kept shifting between me and Mark's motionless body, Percy was standing still with one of Mark's friends in a headlock, the other sitting by the ropes. Annabeth was half in the ring and frozen in shock. Suddenly an echoing yell pierced the silence.

"Everyone out of the ring! Mr Nyström, come with me now," I turned carefully to see a short leathery faced woman standing in the entrance her arms folded and a stern expression covering her features. "And someone please take that boy to the nurse's office." She gestured to Mark who was now moaning quietly.

"Mrs Dodds it wasn't his fault, Mark-"Percy started.

"That's enough Percy, let's go." She finished.

Slowly I made my way out the ring, my entire body aching and followed Mrs Dodds out of the hall. The second day of school and I already got into a fight, this year is looking quite bleak already.

**I really don't know if that was any good or not… Don't know why I chose to do this, it just seemed like a good idea at the time :L**

**Dear reviewers: 'Me' haha don't worry, I'll never ignore anyone's reviews especially yours :). A rucksack another word for backpack, I've been trying to swap English words like 'Mum' for the American spelling 'Mom' because of majority American reviewers. I don't even normally say rucksack but you know, it just happened. ''Flames of glory and Hermes child of Awesomeness' I'm glad you both enjoyed and I hope you both like this one as much as the last. 'The best guest' pretty much the same thing I just said and I'm happy you like Rebecca, she's my favourite as well. 'Jimsdale' Thanks for continued support and all questions will be answered in future chapters. 'SirPepsi' your reviews are somewhat of an inspiration at the moment (not to say that no one else's reviews aren't). I'd like to thank you but I don't think I could convey it in words really, and I really don't deserve that praise, I'm just glad everyone is enjoying it :).**

**Salute to all the guys on fanfiction, the best minority since everybody hates Chris.**

**Thanks for reading everyone – I love you guys, **

**Have a beautiful day.**

**Schönen Tag noch.**

**Avez-vous une bonne journée.**

**Miłego dnia.**

**Abbiate una buona giornata.**

**Ha en härlig dag.**

**Que tengan un buen día.**

आपकादिनअच्छाबीते**.**

ಶುಭ ದಿನವಾಗಲಿ


	7. Another kick in the stomach

**Jesse**

Following Mrs Dodds out of the silent hall and it to a long corridor, she lead me through it and then back into the main part of the school searching for an empty room. After what seemed like forever, she stopped and peered into a classroom on her left, she gestured me in and glanced up and down the hallway. I'm getting a really bad vibe from this.

I entered the classroom and the scent of caffeine hit me like a tidal wave, and just when I was beginning to think my nausea was getting a bit better. The room itself was well decorated with boards full of colour and maths equations. A small desk for the teacher sat abandoned in the corner with a laptop on top of it, humming quietly to itself.

I pulled out a chair from the nearest desk and gratefully collapsed onto it. I exhaled heavily and put my head in my hands, trying to wish away the dull aches that surrounded me. You ever had one those really sick days where you just constantly throw up? Yeah, it was a little like that.

I heard the door close and I looked up to see Mrs Dodds eyeing me suspiciously. Then she did something that really freaked me out. She sniffed, and not like the small sniff you do when you have cold. I mean a huge intake of air through her little cheese grater nostrils, almost as if she were trying to catch the scent of some delicious cooking really far away.

"Umm, Mrs Dodds… are you okay?"

She walked slowly to the right, not breaking eye contact for a second. "Who are you?" She demanded.

"Err, Jesse Nyström."

"No! Who are you really?" She repeated, her voice gradually raising.

"Jesse… Björn Nyström?" I said prudently.

"Don't play games with me boy! I know you're not one of them," She gestured toward the door, implying the school.

"With all due respect Mrs, what on earth are you talking about?" I questioned in disbelief.

She darted forwards briskly- faster than I thought possible for her- and glowered down at me with dark fiery eyes. On any normal occasion I would've jumped out of my skin but I was too tired to move right now and could only stare straight back at her.

"You know exactly what I'm talking about. You don't smell like anyone I've met before but let me assure you, if you have come here to do harm to someone then you have made a great mistake. Anything so much as a toe out of line and I won't hesitate to-"

Suddenly the door opened and in marched two men in shirts and ties. They were: the principal Mr McKinney, a fairly tall balding man in his late forties who vaguely resembled a young Terry Bradshaw, and Mr Vargas, an average looking guy with short dark hair and a sombre look in his eyes. He was head of faculty in the school.

Mrs Dodds and I both just froze in place; looking like the worst excuse for an acted interrogation scene. Unlike Mrs Dodds I was extremely happy to see the two of them, although I was bound for punishment, it seemed a much better option than anything Mrs Dodds was going to bestow upon me.

"It's okay Alice, we'll take it from here." Said Mr Vargas flatly. "You can go back to your classroom now."

Mrs Dodds straightened up and adjusted her leather jacket, she took one last glare at me without either of the two men seeing and glided out of the room. I stayed rooted to the chair still in shock of what had just happened.

"Now then Mr Nyström," Started the principal, Mr McKinney. "I understand from just leaving the sports hall that you were not the one who started the fight. Your reaction however is far from unpunishable. Mark has been sent to hospital with a neck sprain because of your actions."

A mountain of guilt engulfed me, I didn't realise I had sent him to the hospital, I didn't even mean to punch him that hard. Did I?  
I sat there, completely tuned out of what the principal was saying, staring into space and contemplating what had happened. This wasn't the first time I had sent someone to the hospital but it was the first I had committed intentionally. I started getting a bit frantic, wondering if Mark was okay.

"Since this is only the second day back as well, we're certainly not going to expel you however we are going to take you out of the rest of your lessons," Mr Vargas was saying "In which time you will be serving detention. You will also be excluded from school tomorrow."

Mr McKinney stepped in. "Mr Nyström are you even listening to us?"

"Yeah I am," I said looking up at them. "Is Mark going to be okay?"

"I certainly hope so." Replied Mr McKinney, I sighed and hung my head. He was a kind man and didn't usually like dishing out punishments but this was of course part of job. We were fairly well acquainted after being in this situation more often than not.

"Come on then, you'll be spending the rest of your day in reception." Mr Vargas told me.

"The entirety of it?" I asked.

"Well, you'll get lunch of course but other than that yes."

I groaned and stood up wearily stretching but pulled back after my stomach violently disagreed with me. Coughing ferociously, I fell into a crouch clutching my stomach which felt like it was digesting itself. The two men turned from me to each other.

"Best get him to the nurse's office John." Said Vargas quickly.

They both hoisted me up and we left the room, heading to the nurse's office. When we got there they more or less left me there and told the nurse they would be back. Our nurse was a nice petite lady who was probably in her late forties, she had dirty blonde hair and small defined features.

She told me to sit on a desk and did some measuring stuff that I was didn't really pay attention to. After a while, she moved toward a cabinet at the back of the room which unlike the rest of the school, was fairly old looking and not as pristine. She took out a small brown bottle of liquid and unscrewed the lid, she took out a spoon and gave the two to me and told me to take three spoonfuls.

Sometime after doing so, my stomach began to settle and not devour itself. The nurse smiled at me and took the bottle and spoon out of my hand, her green eyes gleaming.

"Feeling any better?" She asked me kindly.

"Loads, thanks a lot."

"No need to thank me, it's what I do." She dismissed. "Now if Mark's friend told me correctly, you took a kick to your genitals, a punch to the temple and a kick in the stomach?"

"Something like that." I grumbled, not really wanting to be reminded of it.

"And you're sure you're not feeling any other aches or anything?"

"Not really, no." She looked a little surprised at this. "Was mark in here?" I asked, eager to learn his condition.

"Don't fret, I'm sure he will be fine. He is very capable hands right now." That relieved me somewhat but didn't quite take off the encompassing sense of guilt. I made note to visit him in the hospital and apologise.

After filling out some paperwork on her desk, a knock came from the door and Mr McKinney walked in. He ushered me out and took me to reception which was next to the nurse's office. We entered and both knew the drill of holding your breath upon entry to reception. This didn't prepare us for the substantial amount of perfume that bombarded our senses.

Half gagging, we walked past Melissa the receptionist, she was a large woman with scraggly hair and a bad smoking habit.

"Back again so soon are we Jesse?" She asked me.

"Unfortunately." I muttered back. I've been here enough times to be welcomed back with her usual yellowish grin of crooked teeth.

The principal led me to a door behind the desk and opened it. Inside was a small room which was quite bare of any furnishing, there were three chairs and a coffee table in the middle. There was a plant in the left corner of the room and a window, covered by blinds that had a view of the parking lot. A water tank with cups sat solemnly on the right of the room.

"I'm going to leave you in here for the rest of the day, I'll make sure the teachers get you your work and feel free to leave at lunch. Just make sure you come back." Said Mr McKinney, he smiled sympathetically and closed the door.

The next hour was probably the slowest of my life. The clock seemed to deliberately travel at a snail's pace, not seeming to care about my boredom. Melissa came in with some maths work for me but I really didn't feel like doing it, so it just ended up a page of half-hearted scrawls.

Eventually the lunch bell went and I hurried out of the stuffy room, realising that I was starved. I entered the lunch hall and moved into the line for school meals, towering above the people in front of me. The hall was much smaller than the sports hall but still quite large, it had a wood panel floor with brick walls dotted with big windows.

"Hey Jesse, where were you last lesson?" Called a voice behind me. I turned to see Trey walking up to me, a worried expression on his face.

"McKinney locked me up in reception and I can't come in tomorrow."

"Damn… Well it's a much more lenient punishment than I thought they'd give you." A stated.

"I guess so." I sighed.

As the line reached the service, it split, some people moving toward the vegetarian option. As it did, we ended up next to Percy who was talking to the lady at the counter and gesturing to the bowl of pasta she was holding out to him.

"-tricoloured pasta should have blue in it." He accepted the bowl and then noticed me next to him. "Jesse, how are you feeling?"

"Alright I guess," I replied. "Thanks for trying to help out back there."

"Hmph, tried is the key word there." He huffed, moving along to pay for the meal.

I took a plate of ravioli and a carton of orange juice and headed to pay for it. Well I say pay, I get free meals since my parents aren't well… around anymore. Percy was waiting for us by the end of the counter, I went up to the woman on the till, she nodded at me knowingly and I passed through without payment.

Unfortunately Percy picked up on this. "Jesse, how come you didn't have to pay?"

"Cause, umm… you know…" I trailed of trying to think of a reasonable explanation. Luckily Trey interrupted us, appearing on my left.

"What's the hold up?" He questioned.

"Actually I think McKinney might want me to be in reception." I stated so I could make my escape. I darted off, out of the hall and away from Percy's intruding questions.

I know what you're thinking, that was pretty stupid but I didn't really know an explanation to that and I just wanted to leave so that felt like the right thing to do at the time.

Back at reception I slowly at my meal and tried to find a way to make the time go faster but to no avail. Pretty soon lunch had ended and I was given more work to do from my next two classes, physics and social studies. I usually enjoy both lessons but being trapped in this room seemed to drain away all aspects of fun.

Finally, the bell that signalled the end of lessons came and I was released from my imprisonment. Hurriedly, I left the school, making sure I avoided Percy. After I reached the bottom of the steps I crossed the road to the elementary school. I was in a bit of a fret at the minute, I needed to go see if Mark was okay at the hospital. I didn't particularly want Percy to see me either.

I stood there outside the gates, looking back and forth. Where has she got to?  
Then I felt a light tug on my shirt to right and I turned. Rebecca was standing there idly staring up at me with big worrying grey eyes.

"Hey Jesse-bear, are you okay? You look a really worried." She told me in a nervous tone.

I couldn't help but smile at her gorgeous little face. "Don't worry Becca, I'm fine." I told her.

"Good," She said although not sounding entirely convinced. "It's not nice when you worry."

She grabbed hold of my hand and we started our trek home, I saw Shane across the street walking from school and I waved to get his attention. He rolled his eyes and turned to look at me.

"We might be a little late getting back home." I called.

"Okay, you're never at home most of the time anyway." He retorted and carried on walking. It was true though, I usually had to work at Starbucks to keep up with our rent and everything.

"Jesse, where are we going?" Rebecca asked.

"Do you mind making a quick trip to the hospital with me?"

"No, I've never been to a hospital before." She said with a grin of excitement lighting up her face. "Oh and I've got something for you." She rustled through her bag and produced a picture which she handed to me.

It was well drawn considering she was only ten. The picture was of the three of us; Shane, Rebecca and me all holding hands on top of a hill. Shane was to the left with a grumpy face, I was in the middle and made freakishly tall whilst Rebeca was on the right with a big beam across her drawn self.

I looked at the real Rebecca and she too was smiling, looking up at me expectantly.

"Do you like it?" She asked.

"I love it."

* * *

**ATTENTION: I'm being a bit indecisive at the moment and I really don't know whose perspective to do next, if you could be so kind as to say who you think I should do in the next chapter that would be really helpful. Thanks :)**

**Reviewers: 'Jimsdale' It's nice to see that people are excited by this, I honestly thought nobody would review it at all, but then I got you lovely people :P 'The guest quest' I like the names you're coming up with and I hope you like this one! 'hermes child awesomeness' I'm glad you think it is awesome. I feel like I did that fight scene wrong though :L**

**Don't forget to criticise anything feel needs adjusting, it helps a lot.**

**Thanks everyone for reading,**

**Have a beautiful day.**

**Schönen Tag noch.**

**Avez-vous une bonne journée.**

**Miłego dnia.**

**Abbiate una buona giornata.**

**Ha en härlig dag.**

**Que tengan un buen día.**

आपकादिनअच्छाबीते**.**

ಶುಭ ದಿನವಾಗಲಿ**.**


	8. A night to remember

**Annabeth**

"Percy, if there is so much as a hint of alcohol at this party…"

"Don't worry wise girl, it's not like we'll be drinking any." I frowned at my boyfriend but carried on walking.

The two of us were walking down busy streets that were brimming with life and car fumes. The bustle of traffic intertwined with the colossal buildings made the perfect example of life in Manhattan. We were headed to a house party that we had been invited to or Percy had rather, by a girl named Lucy and although I didn't much like the idea, I was happy to go if my seaweed brain was.

I was wearing my favourite grey owl t-shirt and skinny jeans, my owl earing dangling securely from my ears. Percy had a blue shirt on (which could definitely do with some ironing) and denim shorts. His black hair was in its usual messy state and despite my urges to flatten it, it was one of the things I couldn't help but love about him.

The last two days had gone very quickly ever since Jesse's incident with Mark. I was still extremely curious about what Mrs Dodds had said to him as Percy had told me that he didn't seem quite right at lunch. We had been meaning to ask her but couldn't find her yesterday. What also made me curious was how Jesse had managed to stand up and knock Mark unconscious after such a beating.

I turned to Percy, my thoughts clouded with ideas and possible dilemmas. "Percy I've been thinking. What if Jesse is one of us as well?"

He paused for a moment, his sea green eyes rolling with thoughts. "I honestly don't know. Even if he was, who would he be the child of? I don't remember there being a god for taking a kick in the balls."

This got me thinking as well; he couldn't be a child of the big three otherwise we would be seeing more than just Alecto at school, and he didn't resemble any of the other gods of Olympus.

"The house is just round the corner I think." Said Percy, gesturing to the end of the street. We turned round the right corner and stopped in our tracks, seeing a familiar head of shaggy black hair waiting for us about twenty five metres down the street outside one of the houses.

"Nico?" Percy said in evident surprise. I looked at Percy with a mutual expression. He had a troubled expression on his face as he stared the pavement down, did he have news from camp?

Ever since the end of the war we've all been pretty distant from each other but none more than Nico. Piper told me that after Diocletian's tomb, he would rarely meet anyone's eyes and suddenly seemed to develop a strong bond with Jason. During the war I thought he had seemed to become much closer to the group but after, he became a little despondent. Maybe he just wanted some time alone.

We drew closer to Nico and he turned, noticing us. His previously dark and brooding face lighting up somewhat.

"Nico, what are you doing here?" I asked him.

He looked at me grimly. "Looking for you two."

"Aw come on, we're not that bad are we?" Percy joked but Nico's expression remained unfazed.

I punched seaweed brain on the arm and continued. "Did you talk to Chiron?"

"Yeah…" He replied. "He said he would send a satyr to investigate and in the meantime, you two should try not to create any attention."

"Well that's not going to be an easy feat." I stated, gesturing at Percy.

"Love you too." He replied with a smile, then turning to Nico. "If that's what he said, then why the whole apprehensive expression?"

Nico looked at Percy- though not directly- very seriously. "There's something not quite right at camp, but I don't know what yet."

"How can you tell?" I asked after a pause.

"It's like my ability to sense death, I can feel something… something wrong." Nico trailed off, a frown encompassing his features.

We stood in silence for a moment, taking in Nico's words. I looked down at the pavement like Nico had done earlier, my thoughts a raging cloud of mind maps and possibilities. Percy was the first to break the silence.

"Well the camp borders haven't weakened at all have they?"

"No," Nico responded. "Not as far as I know anyway. Chiron would've told me if they had."

"Then there shouldn't be much threat from monsters from the outside, and the gods wouldn't allow the camp to be breached… especially now." Percy said with a small amount confidence.

"I don't know." Nico sighed gruffly. "Anyway, I better get going."

"So soon?" I asked.

"Yes, my dad seemed a bit unsettled last time I saw him."

"Oh, ok." I replied and with that he vanished in a cloud of shadowy tendrils. "You don't think Hades being troubled and something wrong at camp could be linked do you?" I asked Percy.

He looked at me through rich sea green eyes. "I hope not… but in the meantime, we have a party to attend."

With that he took me by the hand and led me to a fairly large three storey yellow house with stairs leading up to the front door, a brass door handle sat timidly on the front of it. Percy just rang the doorbell. The door opened a few moments later to reveal Lucy and a hallway littered with people from our grade.

"Hi guys!" She chirped cheerily. "Come on in."

Percy held the door open for me and gestured me inside, all gentleman-like.

"Percy, I can open the door myself you know."

"What kind of a boyfriend would I be if I didn't?" He replied casually.

"One that's not a complete seaweed brain," I sighed but in good humour, and walked in.

The party wasn't much of what I expected. There were no drunken guys running around with no shirts, there was no couple in the corner making out and no loud dance music. It was nice.

Lucy's parents were home so there was a limit on the drinks which I was happy about, alcoholic beverages do really bad things to your mind especially if you're a demigod. That does of course exclude children of Dionysus who are practically made for drinking. There was a pretty big turnout overall, considering this was more of just a get together rather than a party. Mark's two friends had turned up but sat in a corner and kept themselves to themselves, which was fine by me.

Me and Percy spent most of the time chatting to people and trying to make the time go faster and unsurprisingly, it didn't. That is until a tall African-American guy by the name of Trey, came over to us. Percy and I were standing in the kitchen by ourselves and Percy was pouring out some coke out for us when Trey came through the door.

"Hey guys, you enjoying the party?" He started with a jolly expression on his face.

Percy turned to face him. "Yeah, I don't think you've met Annabeth yet have you? Annabeth," He said gesturing to him. "This is Trey. Trey this is my girlfriend Annabeth."

"Nice to meet you." He said shaking my hand. "Percy, you didn't tell me you were dating a supermodel."

"Trust me, Annabeth beats any supermodel by a mile." He said, laughing and I couldn't help but feel my face sizzle.

"Is Jesse not with you?" I asked him.

"Err, no, he's not. He had to stay home and look after Rebecca and Shane."

"Shane?" Percy asked.

"The moody looking kid he sometimes hangs around with." I remember Jesse walking with a messy haired boy in school once, that must have been him. "They both live with him and he doesn't want to leave them alone in the house, he can sometimes be a bit too paranoid.

He may be paranoid but if our guess is correct, a monster could attack them at any time and I doubt Rebecca would be able to defend herself against a fully grown hellhound. Best he stays with them.

"Are they his brother and sister?" Percy asked, which I was also wondering.

"No, they're not." Trey answered.

"Oh, well then where are their parents?" Continued Percy, talking about their mortal parents although I don't think Trey knew that.

Trey rubbed the back of his neck looking determinedly at the floor. "Well, umm, I think Jesse would prefer to tell you this himself but since he never tells anyone… they don't have any parents. Well they do, just not with them anymore."

"Their orphans?" I questioned, quite taken aback.

"Yeah, or they used to be anyway. Their orphanage was shut down and they decided to live together instead of going to another."

"Couldn't they have tried to get adopted?" Percy interrogated.

"There aren't many families, if any, that will accept three orphans into their home."

There was short silence in which Percy and I took in the new information. Percy's gaze never left the wall opposite him, he was in another world entirely. I decided to break the ice, curiosity enforcing my question.

"Do you know what happened to their parents? If you don't mind me asking."

"Well Jesse I know comes from Sweden," That explains his accent then. "He said he never knew his father and his mother died a few years after they moved here. I think she had lung cancer and died when he was twelve."

More silenced pursued this statement and swept over the kitchen like a chilling wind. In the background, the sound of people playing spin the bottle could be heard, shouts travelling through the walls.

"What about the others?" Percy asked, unusually quiet. From his expression I could tell he didn't like hearing this.

Trey sighed, scratching his long arm. "Rebecca I'm not too sure about. I think she lived with her dad but he abandoned her. Jesse said she got adopted again but ran away because she didn't like the family. Shane ran away from his home, I don't know much about it though."

I sting of familiarity shot through me when I realised Rebecca was left alone much like I had been, and we both found a new family to live with. If they were demigods then we needed to get them to camp as soon as possible.

The rest of the party went pretty solemnly, we didn't talk to others as much as we had done and we didn't talk to Trey again after we parted in the kitchen. We decided to take our leave at about half eleven, said goodbye to everyone and left for home. Percy walked me to my apartment and asked again if I was sure I didn't want to live with him to which I replied that I was happy here.

He kissed me goodnight which left me buzzing till I fell asleep cosily in my owl sheet bed. My dream as usual, wasn't quite as nice as the bed I was in…

* * *

I was looking over camp half blood, from the perspective of a bird, soaring over the cabins and past the mess hall. Suddenly I was jerked forward, as though a hand had plucked me out of the air and pulled me toward the beach. I landed without impact on the sand and although it was a sunny day, I felt no warmth from the sun or the sand beneath my feet.

I gazed out to the water feeling as though there was something radiating from it. I studied the waves, watching them as they travelled toward me and broke onto the sand. I expected the water to retreat onto itself but it didn't, it stopped where it landed and waited for the next wave to break ashore, moving closer to where I stood.

I tried to turn and run but my feet had been engulfed by the sand. I struggled to escape but fell backwards and landed sitting, watching the ocean close in on me.

Then it stopped. Going from forceful four foot waves to complete still. Then a voice resonated from it, vibrating the sand underneath me and echoing in the woods behind me.

_Under the cover of darkness we shall come,  
Even the strongest amongst you shall succumb.  
Through treachery and hate we shall claim our life,  
And have our rule through your blindness and strife.  
None of your kin shall live to tell the tale,  
Of how demigod strength did naught but fail._

* * *

**Wow, two weeks… I apologise deeply for having kept you waiting. I finished school the day after I published that last chapter so I've been a bit occupied, but don't worry, I stayed up till one o'clock in the morning to finish this for you guys :)**

**Mah wonderful reviewers: 'Guest' (the first one and possibly the last one if it's the same person :L I can never tell) I'm very happy you like it so much it means more than you imagine, I tried to slow down the pace in that chapter and I'm glad you like it. 'SirPepsi' I'm glad you're picking out the parts you most like, it helps me know my strengths in writing and thanks for all the continued support again! 'Jimsdale' It's nice that people enjoy these chapters and let me know but criticism is also appreciated, it helps me improve. That goes for all of you by the way. 'Noordinaryguest' haha I'm glad you picked up on that, clever you :P 'Me' Thanks for continued support, it means so much! Sorry if you're disappointed I went with Annabeth, don't worry though, I promise to do a Rebecca chapter. 'PJOfan and Guest' I'm sorry if I sound snarky guys but this has to be set straight, I don't want like one word reviews or people asking for more in reviews, it makes me feel under more pressure to submit faster and I want to take my time with this. I'm not in this for the reviews either so if I do get them, I would like them to be done properly, thanks.**

**Thanks for reading,**

**Have a beautiful day you lovely people and enjoy your summer!**

**Schönen Tag noch.**

**Avez-vous une bonne journée.**

**Miłego dnia.**

**Abbiate una buona giornata.**

**Ha en härlig dag.**

**Que tengan un buen día.**

आपकादिनअच्छाबीते**.**

ಶುಭ ದಿನವಾಗಲಿ**.**


	9. I do the unthinkable

**Annabeth**

I shot upwards in my bed, eyes wide open and any means of sleep long gone. I was panting heavily with sweat glistening on my palms. I felt my forehead and found it burning intensely, threatening to scald my hand. I couldn't recall much of my dream and my head began to ache when I tried to remember so my attempts quickly ceased.

I tried to calm myself and steady my breathing, looking around in the place I had begun to call home over the past week. My bedroom was pretty small but that was fine, I didn't want a big apartment. Despite it being small and full with furnishings, it still felt empty and I can't quite explain why. The walls were light cream coloured and had a tall bookshelf against the one opposite my bed, brimming with a collection of my favourite novels. At the end of the room, below a window was a small desk and chair next to which, a pile of scrapped designs lay forgotten.

I dragged my legs over the side of the bed and onto the floor. I sat there gazing into the shadows, my breathing much steadier, attempting to recollect different fragments of the dream. Then my right foot nudged something sharp that wasn't supposed to be on my floor. I looked down to see an upside down picture frame. I must have knocked it off my bedside table in my sleep. I picked it up and turned it over to find a picture of Percy, Thalia, Grover and me in central park, just after the war with Kronos. I smiled at the memory and although it wasn't taken at the happiest point in our lives, it was comforting to know that we were all still friends.

I put the picture back on my bedside table and slowly traipsed out my room in my pyjamas to get some breakfast, the few remnants of the dream that remained were quickly fading from my memory.

The kitchen was nice enough I guess, if you liked all plain white counters full of clutter. My mom once said to me, 'If a cluttered desk is a sign of a cluttered mind, of what then, is an empty desk a sign of?' I guess I've not bothered cleaning up after myself as much after that. There was a small dining table in the middle of the square kitchen which was connected to my living room which was basically an abundance of seats and other furniture, I didn't have a T.V though.

I made myself a bowl of cereal and fruit and sat down on the dining table, looking through my school schedule for today. Looks as though I had art and then mechanics first thing; followed by maths, English and Spanish.

After finishing breakfast I went for a shower and got changed into a white t-shirt and grey jumper with blue jeans and black converse. Then, feeling much more refreshed and less drowsy, I mapped out my plans for the day in my head whilst getting ready. I was going to have to talk to Jesse today seeing as we sat next to each other in mechanics and although that wasn't bad, I don't think I could look at him the same after what happened yesterday.

Actually I should probably tell Chiron that they're living alone, now that I think about it. It's not safe for untrained demigods to be alone, even with there being much less monsters about. I took a drachma from my bedroom and grabbed some dry ice out of the freezer. After filling my kettle and heating the water I tossed the iced into a bowl and the hot water shortly after it. Fog instantly surged out of the bowl and onto the counter.

I tossed a drachma into the bowl and it landed with a satisfying plop.

"Oh Iris, goddess of the rainbow, please accept my offering…" The depths of the bowl shone golden for a second before fading. "Show me Chiron at camp half-blood please."

A rainbow began to glimmer in the bowl and I leant over it, trying to making out the blurry image, perhaps this wasn't the best way to iris message someone...

The image began to clear and I saw the pinochle table at which sat Chiron and our camp director, Mr D (or Dionysus if you want to be technical). Mr D sighed and laid down his cards in his usual losing fashion.

"Well I don't know how you do it Chiron but you've beaten me again," He took a swig of is diet coke. "You must have some cards up your sleeve I'm sure."

"With all due respect, I wouldn't expect the need to cheat to beat you Mr D." Chiron responded.

"I suppose," Dionysus huffed, then he turned his head and looked in my direction with a bored expression. "Looks like you have a call." Chiron turned his wheelchair to face where Mr D was looking and his face lit up when he saw me.

"Ah, Annabeth good to see you again dear. How are things at school?"

"They're great, thanks for asking." I replied. The old centaur looked much better for wear now that the war was over.

"That's good, however I assume that's not the reason you called this early." He sated, knowingly.

"Yeah, it's not. Do you remember the potential demigods that Nico told you about?" He nodded, his face radiating calm and understanding. "Well Percy and I found out yesterday that they're living alone in an apartment together."

Chiron stopped and thought for a moment, his brow creasing as had done so many times over the years. "And there were three of them?"

"Yeah, a seventeen year old guy, a girl who I think is about ten and another guy who I haven't seen but Nico has."

"How sure can we be that they are indeed demigods?" Chiron asked.

"Well the girl has grey eyes like mine, and she seemed more intelligent than any other ten year old that I've seen, and the older guy seems a lot tougher than a mortal should be. That's about all we can go on right now."

"I see…" Chiron pondered on this and then turned back to me after he had finished thinking. "I sent a satyr to check on the situation this morning and he should be arriving at you're school at some point today if he isn't side-tracked."

"Yeah, Nico told us you would. So, if they do turn out to be demigods…"

"Then we will have to bring them back to school as soon as possible." He stated with nod. "Oh, and Annabeth?"

"Yeah?" I asked.

"School starts soon I believe, best not be late."

I looked up at the clock in the kitchen and gasped when I saw I had ten minutes to get to school.

"See you Chiron!" I said hurriedly, I grabbed my bags and ran for the door.

* * *

It was lucky that I live a bit too far away from Percy to walk to school with otherwise I would have made us both late. I could picture him standing patiently at the door for me, in no rush what so ever.

I walked- actually no- I stumbled through the school doors panting heavily. I looked up at the clock, Hades! I was five minutes late, even after sprinting through Manhattan at breakneck speeds. With my breathing back to fairly normal standards I passed the doors and through the main corridor. Just when I thought I was safe, a nasally voice caught me off-guard.

"Well Miss Chase, I didn't expect to see you off all people late this morning." I looked to my right and behind the desk of the student reception was a tall stick of a woman with very defined and bony features.

"Sorry Mrs Johnson, I'll try not to do it again." I apologised.

She looked at me over the top of her hooked nose. "That you should, if you're late two more times this term, then you'll be serving detention."

"Won't happen again Mrs Johnson." I turned away as she began writing my name down on the late student list. I mean honestly, a daughter of Athena serving detention?

I gave a weary sigh when I remembered I had art first which was all the way on the other side of the school. Oh well, it was better than having to trek across Tartarus. I shuddered at the thought; that place still gives me nightmares. I stopped myself before I thought about it too much, couldn't let myself well up in public now, could I?

I made my through the deserted corridors to get to my first lesson and when I finally arrived my teacher's mouth was so wide open, you could probably have put a watermelon in there. Oh and guess what we had to draw? Yep, watermelons. I could already tell this was going to be a long lesson.

After the lesson was over I handed in my piece and the teacher gave his usual 'it's so great to have talented young artists, best in the class et cetera, et cetera.' I hurried out the class after he had finished before he could lecture me anymore.

Looks like I've got mechanics next, great, I don't know what to say to Jesse right now or if I should say anything at all. Should I tell him I know about him and the others not having parents? Maybe not… I don't want to get Trey in trouble for telling us something he shouldn't have.

As my thoughts continued to rumble on I didn't take much notice that I had already walked the length of the school to get to my class and sat down in my desk without so much of a second thought. By the time had realised where I was, our teacher, Mr Pacheco had already started the lesson and everyone was sat down. Everyone except Jesse.

Oh no, they couldn't have been attacked could they? There was no telling what could've happened… I mean three demigods living by themselves, every hellhound and empousa in the state would've been able to track them down. What were we thinking? Leaving them alone like that, we should've tried to take them to camp while we had the chance.

Whilst I was wallowing in doubt, there came a knock at the door. I looked up to see a tall figure covering the doorway with ash brown hair swept calmly across his head and brown eyes looking down apologetically. It felt like the sky had been taken off my shoulders again.

"Sorry I'm late Sir." He said in his usual husky voice.

"That's okay Jesse, any reason why you're late?"

"Not really no." He huffed although not sounding entirely convincing.

"Alright then. Take your seat and we'll continue the lesson."

He strode over to his seat next to mine, "Hey." He said quietly with a smile.

"Hey, how come you're so late?" I whispered as he sat down.

He looked at me with intense brown eyes, his light blue 'edub for president' t-shirt standing out against them. "Me and Rebecca went to the hospital a couple of days ago and I think she must have caught something because she was feeling a bit ill this morning."

"And you stayed behind to look after her?"

"Yeah." I've got to admit that was pretty cute, but did that mean she was at home by herself now?

"Did she take the day off?" I asked.

"Nah she went to school, I told her I would stay at home with her but she wasn't having any of it. She wouldn't miss a day off school if it killed her, won't let me either."

I smiled at this, even if I couldn't be completely positive that she was a demigod, she certainly sounded like a daughter of Athena to me.

"Okay class," Mr Pacheco started. "Today we will be starting our course of kinematics, we've already been doing some work related to it and hopefully it'll give you a more diverse understanding of the lessons ahead. Now, can anyone give me a definition of kinematics?"

No-one seemed to want to participate so I stuck my hand in the air. "Yes Annabeth?"

"It's the use of Newton's laws and other formulae to describe motion in a variety of points and objects."

"Very well done, can you tell me when it is used?"

"Umm, probably astrophysics, biomechanics and some forms of mechanical engineering."

"Correct again." Mr Pacheco said and began rambling on about what we would be covering. I stopped listening when I noticed a piece of paper in front of me that wasn't there before.

I looked down to see a small piece of paper that had been folded lengthways so it would stand, just like a name plaque on a desk would. I picked it up and turned it round to see _Einstein _written on it. I looked across at Jesse who looked like he hadn't moved in a century and didn't even flinch one bit under my stare. I could only smile to myself, looks like we were going to get along well with these guys.

* * *

The lessons after mechanics went really slowly although I had a really nice lunch alone with Percy where we could just enjoy each other's company. Percy met me outside of Spanish and walked with me out of school when we were met with a very strange character.

'Look, Annabeth if you'd just try a blue cookie I'm sure you'd love it." Percy was saying.

"I'm sure I would Percy, but it's a weird-" I was cut off by a voice to our left as we reached the bottom of the stone steps.

"Are you guys Percy and Annabeth?" The voice was a little hoarse, as if the owner had been travelling without rest for too long.

We turned to see an odd looking guy who looked in his early twenties, he had a scruffy bit of hair on his chin and caramel eyes. He was wearing a baseball cap and walked with a strange crook in his legs.

"Yeah, who're who?" Asked Percy a little too impolitely.

"Benton Dewlight at your service." He said proudly with a beam across his face. "Chiron sent me to check out our little situation here."

"Wow, you got here fast." I said, surprised he had turned up so quickly.

He made a bleating sound which got us a few stares from others. "I'm the fastest satyr this side of the river, that's one reason why Chiron sent me. He told me to pose as a teaching assistant for a few days to see what's what."

"Oh right. Will we be seeing you often then?" I asked.

"Trust me," he smiled a bright white smile. "You won't even know I'm here."

* * *

**Wow. I have been so terrible this past month. If I could apologise to you guys as much as I would like, I would. However I don't think I could do it in words... thanks for waiting and stuff though, hope you enjoyed. It was difficult writing this, guess I should've gone with a Rebecca chapter after all, oh well.**

**Dear reviewers: 'hermes child awesomeness' Haha thanks, gotta love the Swedes. 'HannahBanana16' Thank you! It's nice to be open to all languages and people, I don't think I've seen you before so welcome :) 'Jimsdale' Glad you enjoyed and thanks for that, I'll try and avoid any Sue-ishness. Don't hold me to it though. 'Me' Wow, I'm glad you're enjoying this so much! It's nice to see people appreciate what you do. Not saying any of you other guys aren't so thank you to everyone.**

**This is becoming like a little therapy session for me now :P**

**Anyways thanks for reading everyone,**

**Have a beautiful day.**

**Schönen Tag noch.**

**Avez-vous une bonne journée.**

**Miłego dnia.**

**Abbiate una buona giornata.**

**Ha en härlig dag.**

**Que tengan un buen día.**

आपकादिनअच्छाबीते**.**

ಶುಭ ದಿನವಾಗಲಿ**.**


	10. Snakes on a flat

**Annabeth**

The next week progressed fairly quickly and life carried on as normal, you could almost slip away into the mortal world and forget about the gods. No monsters to worry about, no supernatural beings involving themselves with your life. It was funny to see teens worrying about homework and assignments, struggling to impress their crush or wondering if they'll pass their recent test. If only they knew.

Benton had stayed true to what he said, I mean I barely noticed him during school. He managed to convince the staff in the school (most likely using his reed pipes) that he was an assistant teacher and had showed up in Jesse and Shane's lessons (Jesse told me his name). Percy told me he also went to the elementary school to see Rebecca as well, looks like I might have a new sister after all.

I woke up on a cloudy Monday morning, feeling the chill of the wind seeping through my open window and gnawing at my bed covers. I jumped out my bed and hurriedly closed my windows which slid down without a sound. I sighed heavily, last night I had stayed up a bit too long, finishing homework for maths and art. I started my usual before-school routine and after a nice warm shower, I felt much more ready for the day ahead.

After drying myself I went to my bedroom to get dressed, putting on an owl t-shirt and grey hoodie with slim khaki brown chinos. Just as I was pulling up my socks there came knock at the door. That's odd, who would be knocking my door at half past seven in the morning? My only assumption would be that it was Percy.

I quickly made my to the door and looked out through the peephole to see a scruffy teen who looked so skinny it made me a little sick just looking at him. Even though he was skinny, none of his features were at all bony and to be honest, he didn't look like he had any bones at all! It was an odd sight to say the least. The way he stood seemed to annoy him, like he wasn't quite comfortable in his own skin.

"Who is it?" I called from behind the door.

"Hi, miss Chasssse," His voice was high and sounded as though he were using the back of his throat. He spoke slowly and an obvious lisp made his s' much more distinct. "I'm here about your order from forever twenty one."

Ok that's not right. I didn't order anything. I looked to my left and found my drakon bone sword propped against the small table by the door. I moved it to a reachable position next to the door and looked back out the peephole. The scruffy teen turned and looked right back at me. Stifling a gasp I jumped back from the door, something was definitely not right.

"S-sorry, but I didn't order anything." I could feel my heart pumping faster. My head beginning to tingle with adrenaline.

"Well you were on the lissst, could you just come out and take the package?" I looked out again. There was no package near him.

"How come you haven't got anything?" I asked to no reply.

I backed up and grabbed the drakon bone sword, staring intensely at the door. I waited…

Nothing.

I made the mistake of lowering my guard, thinking I would be able to check the peephole again. I lowered my sword and took half a step forward when the door flew forward off its hinges and onto the floor with a deafening bang. In the now empty frame stood the skinny teen, his eyes boring into mine. Although they weren't just normal eyes, looking at him properly I could make out his orange and pupils; they were slits, like a cat's.

"You should've opened the door when you had the chance Annabeth Chassse," I backed up as he spoke, keeping my sword level with his head. "Would've made thisss ssso much sssimpler."

The teen fell into a crouch his neck twitching, a hungry look engulfing his eyes. I had hit the wall behind me. There was no running from this. He had me trapped in my own home. The teen sprang forward into the air and toward my head, as he did so he began to change. His skin going from pale white to forest green, his body morphing into one long scaly reptile.

I jumped to my left and swung my sword back across my body as the snake flew past me, a hairs length away from my arm and ploughed a hole in my wall. The sword only just reached the serpent, just giving him a small cut. I cursed as he recoiled from the blade and darted back from the wall into a large coil of green scales.

Now that I could see him in full, one name came to mind. Python, the snake who guarded the oracle of Delphi before Apollo defeated him. If only I could use the myth to defeat him now, unfortunately Apollo had used and arrows and had the obvious advantage of being a god. Looks like I was on my own on this one.

The snakes head rose slowly above its huge coiled body, eyes never leaving my own. I felt a drop of sweat run down the back of my neck.

"Miss Chassse," Python's forked tongue escaping his seemingly thin mouth, fangs just visible and shinning viciously in the light. "Give yourssself up. You've got nowhere to go."

All I could was stall for time, putting on a false smirk I laughed at the huge snake. "Well where would be the fun in that?"

How would you deal with a snake? Come on Annabeth… think! He was too quick to keep evading so straight up fighting was pointless, even with ADHD. I had to blind it, cover its head. With what though? My jumper would take too long to take off and had a good chance of missing. I needed something bigger…

"That'sss true, but I don't have the patience to wait. Do you know what it'sss like being one of usss? Being killed by a puny demigod and get sent back to Tartarus for ssso many long yearsss."

I couldn't let him distract me, I kept searching for a way of trapping him.

"You've been to Tartarusss yesss?" Python continued. "Then you've experienccced what we go through, imagine going back to that placcce every time you die. Essscaping, only to go ssstraight back again."

I tried to shut out his words, looking for my salvation, then I realised. My bed covers. I could only hope that they were heavy enough to stop him for long enough to use my sword. Now I just needed a way back into my room.

"You demigodsss think you have a hard life when you know nothing. Allow me to show the meaning of sssufering…"

With that the snake lunged out from its poise quicker than I could blink and I instinctively jumped back with time for thought. I raised my sword to attack but my legs hit something solid and I toppled over head first onto the floor. Although it was stupid looking back on it, the couch that I tripped over probably saved my life.

I hit the ground with a thump and a streak of pain ran through my head, my vision a blur. I saw the vague image of Python fly over the sofa onto the coffee table, glass scattering the carpet and knocking a few chairs to the floor. I forced myself up, wincing with every movement as my head continued to pound. Python was sprawled across the hallway to my bedroom, covering my only means of fighting.

I took my only option, the kitchen. Staggering behind the counters I ducked out of sight. I needed think of a plan B now or I doubt I would be getting out of this apartment alive! Catching my breath, my eyes scoured the counters trying to find something to use. Kitchen knives wouldn't do anything to a monster… I could try and collapse the fridge on him but I doubted I could pull that off.

"Where are you hiding?" Python spat. I heard gentle hissing from the other side of the counter. I held my breath, searching for something, anything I could use.

Suddenly an ear splitting slam came from the other side of my apartment, from one of the doors. Python made a quick hiss and I heard him begin to slither across the hallway toward my bedroom, believing he had found me.

I slid slowly to the left to check round the side of the counters. I saw the wreckage of what was left of the living room, the upturned sofa I had tripped on and the smashed coffee table. I saw the tail of python slide into my room and out of sight, looks as though I wouldn't be getting to my bedroom any time soon. I could make a break for the door but that would mean going past the bedroom and I wasn't about to leave the Python in a flat full of mortals. I needed to think of something else…

Then I saw it, standing by its lonesome on the kitchen counter. The microwave. I darted toward the fridge and opened it slowly praying to Demeter that I had eggs. I searched the shelves and found the box I was looking for on the middle shelf behind the milk. I snatched the box and pulled out six eggs. I unplugged the microwave and scampered round the corner and into the hall, keeping an eye on my bedroom for the green scales and orange eyes.

I unplugged the lamp and switched it with the microwave which I laid in the middle of the hallway, facing the bedroom. I laid the eggs inside in a circle and turned the microwave on. BEEP!

Styx! I had to hurry, the snake definitely heard that. I turned the heat to full and set the timer to one minute. Hearing a sharp hissing sound from behind me, I leapt up and dashed behind the kitchen counter, looking behind me only to see an empty hallway. I heard the creak of the door as the snake came out of the bedroom and into the hallway. I held my breath and counted down the seconds, hoping my plan would work.

_One. Two. Three…_

The sound of the snake slithering toward the counter gave me Goosebumps and sent a chill down my back. I held in a shiver as the noise stopped, only to be followed by the rasp of the snake's voice.

_Nine. Ten. Eleven…_

"You think me a fool Annabeth Chassse, I'm no average garden sssnake. I wasss here long before man could make fire." He hissed violently, as an angry unfed cat would.

_Seventeen. Eighteen. Nineteen…_

"You try and trick me into a meal ssso you would strike whilssst my back isss turned. Well for a daughter of Athena I thought you prove to be much more… capable." I heard the crackle of glass as the snake checked the living room. It was only a matter of time.

_Thirty. Thirty one. Thirty Two…_

I could hear him getting closer now, he knew where I was. I was so close now I had to improvise something. The gentle hissing sounded as though it was getting higher and I knew I had to confront him now. I stepped out from behind the counter and into the living room with my sword raised. Python, who had risen from the ground to look over the counter, shrank back defensively into a coil right in front of the microwave.

_Forty five. Fort six. Forty seven…_

"Given up on your tricksss? Good, no more waiting- my first demigod meal in five hundred years." He began to rise, barring his fangs and hissing in anticipation. I almost dropped my sword out of fear but I knew I had to stand my ground.

I smirked and looked the serpent towering above me dead in the eyes. "Fifty nine." I said simply.

DING

The microwave door opened and Python only had time for one confused look before the eggs exploded, yolk and shell segments flying everywhere. One piece of eggs got the snake right in the eye and his hissed in anger; twisting, hissing and spitting in blind rage. I took my opportunity to jump forward and bring my sword down ferociously upon its neck. The blade jammed halfway and I yanked it out, Python now writhing upon the floor.

I took one last swing and his head was severed from his body which soon turned to the yellow powder I had been longing to see. I knew I couldn't stick around and congratulate myself however, he may only be the first. I had to tell-

"Umm Annabeth?" Came a voice I knew all too well behind me.

I turned to see Percy standing in the hallway with riptide gripped tightly in his hand, a worried expression etched into his face. I ran into his arms and wrapped myself around him, finding the one place I truly felt safe.

"It's okay, I'm here. What happened?" He asked returning the hug. "I got worried when you didn't show up at school today."

I breathed deeply. "Python showed up, he broke down the door and tried to kill me."

"And you handed his ass to him?" He finished. He sure knew how to make me smile I'll give him that. "Wait, what's this?"

He held up my arm and I winced. What happened to my arm? I turned it over and both our eyes widened. Going from elbow to shoulder was a large cut through my jumper, leaving a bloody trail across my arm. I began to panic. Realising Python must have got me just after he came through the door, his saliva acting as a pain relief. I'm an idiot for not noticing this before.

"We need to get back to camp to get this treated properly." Percy said, the worry from his expression seeping into his voice.

"I've got some ambrosia in my kitchen to help." I started then a thought occurred. "Wait if we're going back to camp, what about Jesse, Rebecca and Shane? Are we certain they're demigods?"

Percy paused for a moment. "I guess we'll have to find out."

**This'll be my last update for a while because I'm going on holiday :P I'll see you lot when I get back on the 21st and hopefully I'll have much more regular updates. **

'**Hermes child awesomness' don't worry, I'm way ahead of you ;) I've got quite a bit planned for the rest of the story as well. ^^ And no haha we don't have Christmas tree up at the moment.**

**Thanks for reading,**

**Have yourself a beautiful day.**

**Schönen Tag noch.**

**Avez-vous une bonne journée.**

**Miłego dnia.**

**Abbiate una buona giornata.**

**Ha en härlig dag.**

**Que tengan un buen día.**

**आपकादिनअच्छाबीते.**

**ಶುಭ ದಿನವಾಗಲಿ.**


	11. The worst day of my life so far

**Shane**

If I had any clue of what was going to happen today then I probably would've stayed in bed. Probably wouldn't have started it with a pillow fight either…

"Rise and shine sleepy head. An hour till school starts so no more sleeping in." My eyes opened drowsily searching for the owner of the voice, when I realised it was Jesse calling me up, I closed them again and turned over to block out his voice.

"Come on," he orders, pulling off my sheets. "I've got a bowl of cheerio's with your name on it!"

Cheerio's? God this guy irritates me and I don't care if he's the only thing stopping them from taking me and Rebecca back to the orphanage, he's just so childish. I pick up my pillow from under my head and launch it at him, nailing him square in the face but he comes out grinning- he always does- and I know that if I don't move now I'll be in for one hell of a hammer throw. Even if he's just throwing a pillow, it might as well be a brick. That's probably because we can't afford a decent pillow but still…

"Right… now you've done it." He laughs and picks up the pillow. I make a dash for the door and narrowly escape as the bag of stuffing flies past my head and hits the wall opposite me.

I turn to the living room and before I can reach the kitchen's dining table a pair of arms grab me from behind and throw me onto the sofa. Although I'm dazed I still have to force down a smile that tries hard to emerge. I look up to see Jesse with two cushions in either hand, and no matter how ridiculous it looked, he was really intimidating. I cover my face with my hands and brace for impact.

Then I hear a soft _thump_, nothing hits me however. I open an eye to see my pillow falling from the back of Jesse's head and in the hallway, Rebecca in a fit of giggles. Now I don't usually like kids, they're just really irritating and needy but this girl was the only exception. Heck she even makes me laugh sometimes… like now for instance. And this one I don't try to hold down, especially since it's at Jesse's expense. We just sit their laughing at his surprised face while he just smiles; throws the cushions to me and walks back to the kitchen.

After eating breakfast and getting ready for school, I set off before Jesse and Rebecca like I usually do- mainly because I can't be bothered to go to the elementary school- to get to school a few minutes early. I would probably go meet up with friends if I had any but unfortunately I'm tasked with being in the worst grade in the school. OK, well maybe a few of them are alright but most of them just think I'm really weird.

Walking through the mostly crowded streets is comforting since I know that I'm not completely on my own here but it doesn't help that I'm mostly choking on car fumes. I f I looked into the distance I could see the skyscrapers not too far away, jutting out of the earth like the few teeth that an old person might have. The school approached quickly and before I knew it I was walking up the steps toward the pale cream bricked building.

I walk through the hallways to find my locker and dump the books that I won't need until after lunch. Today is going to be pretty awful; science, history, math, literature and theatre studies all in that order! How fantastic my life is… I find my locker and start turning the lock absentmindedly. Well at least I had I.T, the one subject that's even remotely fun

I open my locker to find… well, not my locker. There was a pink bordered picture of that dude from twilight on the back of the door and heap of books that I didn't recognise. This wasn't my locker, whose is it? And how on earth did I get into this locker in the first place. Surely it doesn't have the same combination as mine, but then again I don't even remember the digits I used. Just twiddling with the lock.

"Hey, nice locker loser!" Came a mocking laugh from behind me.

I turned to find one of our grade's best football players and most arrogant student: Casey Williams. He was the kind of guy you'd expect to see dunking kid's heads in the toilet. He was a stocky guy who was above average height for our grade and had messy spikes of hair protruding from his head. He definitely wasn't obese but he was a little on the pudgy side.

"It's not even mine." I retorted.

"Well you didn't seem to have any trouble opening it." He taunted. "Didn't know you had such a crush on Edward." Laughs came from the small crowd that had formed.

"Well I for one didn't know his name." I said slamming the locker shut and getting a few 'ooohs' from the spectators. Unfortunately that wasn't the only thing from the crowd.

"Shane, what're you doing in my locker?" Came a girl's voice from my left and out stepped an average height girl in my grade called Mollie Russell. Now she was easily the hottest girl in the year, I mean she had the most gorgeous brown hair you'll find anywhere. Although she could sometimes be that 'typical pretty girl' type, I thought she was cool. I don't think the feeling was mutual though.

"I don't know… I thought that was my locker but, apparently not." I told her.

"Ha! As if, you obviously knew my combination. Did you take something?" She pestered. "Or did you do something to it?"

"He probably wrote you a love note." Suggested Casey, laughing with the crowd. I tried to stop myself turning bright red although I don't thinkI did a very convincing job of it.

"Shut up Casey!" I yelled back at him. "It's not like you don't have a crush on her." This was true. He spent the majority of last grade trying to get her attention, he even sent her flowers.

Casey glared at me. "Keep talking you little sneak, and I'll break every single one of your stubby fingers."

"Oh yeah? Do you even know how to spell fingers?"

I know I had crossed the line this time. "You know what Shane?" Casey's thick features were unrecognisable under his hateful expression.

"What?" I asked, masking my fear with false confidence.

"Casey, don't!" Said Mollie, tugging on his arm as he moved forward but he simply shrugged her off.

"I'm going to hurt you so badly," He said cracking his knuckles. "That you're going to…" He paused for a second trying to find the best description of my future injuries. That second was all an interruption needed.

"He's going to what?" Came an annoyed yell from the back of the crowd. Jesse barged his way through the blockade with ease and towered over Casey threateningly. "Cause if you even lay a finger on this guy, I'll personally make sure that you won't be able to walk for three months."

Casey didn't seem to be able to talk, his face had gone pale white and his hands were shaking slightly. He tried to stand his ground but couldn't seem too hold Jesse's gaze and backed off. "Fine, I was done here anyway." He mumbled and shot one last glare at me and turned away, trudging down the dull corridor.

A moment of silence followed the departure but Jesse soon cleared the crowd away which left the two of us standing alone in silence once more. I hated him for showing up, I know I shouldn't but it just makes me mad how he always has to come and save me from trouble that I never ask for.

"I hate bullies." Stated Jesse after what seemed like an eternity.

I didn't respond. I just stared down at the floor in quiet agreement, admiring the blue and white checked patter on the polished floor.

"You know," He said softly, looking right at me. I still couldn't meet his gaze and kept staring at the floor. "You should probably get to class."

"Yeah." I sighed. Unable to think of anything else to say I just slowly walked down the corridor leaving Jesse on his own, feeling a lot like Casey must have only a few moments earlier.

* * *

The rest of the day went so slowly I could have sworn I had aged at least two years. The majority of my classes went a little like this: open the door and walk in avoiding all possible eye contact, find a seat furthest away from everybody trying not to draw to much attention to myself, stay as quiet as I can and ignore any whispers or laughs. History was especially hard since Casey was in my class, I just tried to ignore the occasional snigger, yell or paper plane that hit my head.

I think I would have preferred if Casey just beat me up there and then instead of having Jesse come and scare him away, I would have a lot less hate on me right now. I got the feeling this wasn't going to go away for a while…

"Next time you won't be so lucky squirt." Came a yell from behind me as I was first to leave history with a scowl on my face. I marched down the corridors toward the lunch hall but realised I wasn't as hungry as I thought and decided to go outside.

Most kids go out to the courtyard or the school field if they want go outside, since I don't really have any friends as such I tend to find that going to either of these places isn't much fun. That's how I found a quiet spot at the back of the school near the car park. Walking through the back doors of the school I turned left and rounded the corner seeing the car park to my right and went round the next corner of the building.

Round the corner was a bench that overlooked a small patch of lush green grass with the school fence just beyond it. I put my bag down and sprawled myself across the smooth oak bench, completely out of sight from anyone who didn't come round the corner, just the way I liked it. It gave me time to clear my thoughts but then again that wasn't always a good thing; I was told once that dwelling on your actions too much can develop into self-doubt or arrogance. Guess who by… yeah, Jesse.

Maybe because he realises how arrogant he is or something, I don't know but he seriously needs to stop being so annoying. He thinks he's so good because he keeps helping everyone when they don't even need it. Why can't he stick to his own stupid problems? Or is he too good to have any? A lot of times I think I'm generally better off without Jesse and Rebecca, and now was definitely no deviation.

Time quickly flew by as I got caught up in my own thoughts and pretty soon it was time for maths. Lumbering through the halls toward my lesson with my feet dragging on the floor, I got the feeling that today could well be one of the worst days of my life. Walking into the classroom I found it to be full of rabble so I was able to grab an empty desk and go unnoticed by the predominance. As I sat the teacher began the lesson with the register and then proceeded to tell us the lesson plan for today. She was a short woman who looked like she was from somewhere around India. Her accent was thick and often made it difficult to understand but she was nice enough, if you weren't out of line that is.

"Today class we will be studying algebraic fractions," A communal moan was ushered in by the class as the teacher continued to explain what we were doing today. My day could literally not get any worse right now. Then about five minutes into the lesson there came a knock at the door. Scratch that it may have just done so…

A pale guy in black clothes with a head full of shaggy black hair came in half way through the door. No way! That was that dude who I spoke to about two weeks ago after I thought I was going to run away again, he was the one who turned me back. What was he doing here?

"Hi Miss, is Shane in here?" He asked our teacher who looked at him questioningly.

"And why might you be asking?" She retorted. He answered by going over and handing her a letter that she seemed to accept judging by the nod of approval but with a lot of remorse behind it.

"Go on then Shane, I'm so sorry about your grandmother." She said turning to me and making it my cue to leave. I was about to say something back but the vampire guy shook his head behind the teacher and tilted his head as a sign to leave. So stupidly enough, I did. We left the room in silence and continued through the corridors in the same fashion until I finally gave up of waiting.

"What on earth are _you_ doing here?" I demanded. "And what's wrong with my grandmother?"

The pale guy looked up and then behind us down the corridor with a slight worried expression as if expecting danger. Who was going to come after him? Probably Mrs Dodds, she was scary enough but it's not like she was some demon lady from hell, so why was he so scared?

"Nothing she's probably fine, I'll explain later when we're safe and there are less important priorities." He said.

"What and you expect me to just believe you?" I retaliated stopping dead in my tracks, this guy wasn't fooling me. "I'm not moving until you tell me what the hell is going on!"

A boom erupted from the ceiling and I felt the ground beneath me start to shake a little. I looked up in shock at the stranger who looked me dead in the eyes. "Yes you are." He replied coolly, turning and breaking into a run toward the front doors and I had no choice but to follow him.

**Guess who's back? Back again. Shady's back, tell a friend. Guess who's back, guess who's back, guess who's- yeah you get the point. I saidI'd give more frequent updates but, well... that went out the window pretty quickly :L**

'**Jimsdale' Haha yeah I'm happy you're still enjoying this, that chapter was so fun to write :) 'hermes child awesomness' Don't worry I'll keep this up until it's over or there's nobody viewing it anymore. 'Daughter of Athena20' Thank you so much for the support and welcome to the story 'n stuff :P 'Guest' I'm glad you think so, I try my best :) hopefully I'll be able to keep it so you guys are all still enjoying it.**

**Anyways thanks for reading,**

**Have a beautiful day.**

**Schönen Tag noch.**

**Avez-vous une bonne journée.**

**Miłego dnia.**

**Abbiate una buona giornata.**

**Ha en härlig dag.**

**Que tengan un buen día.**

आपकादिनअच्छाबीते**.**

ಶುಭ ದಿನವಾಗಲಿ**.**


	12. We meet the worst pets in existance

**Shane**

_A boom erupted from the ceiling and I felt the ground beneath me start to shake a little. I looked up in shock at the shaggy haired and obsidian black eyed stranger who looked back at me, dead in the eyes. "Yes you are." He replied coolly, turning and breaking into a run toward the front doors. I had no choice but to follow him._

Bulleting through the doors, me and the vampire guy came out into the schools entrance and we rushed down the concrete steps into the public car park where the rows of buses were left abandoned, their drivers obviously taking a coffee break. The gate at the end of the car park was left wide open, inviting us to escape the confines of the school, yet something told me we couldn't.

"What're we doing? And what was that noise?" I berated the teen, trying to find out why he had taken me out of the school.

"We're waiting for the others." He stated calmly but with a sense of impatience behind it. "Oh and the noise? That was a 250 pound dog that's going to now be searching the entirety of Manhattan for us."

He said this without even flinching or changing expression as if trying to force me to believe it. I'm sorry, but a dog that weighs not far off three times as much as me? That's got be going on my list of most stupid things ever said because-

Another _boom_ cut me off, this time much louder than the second and considering we were outside the school now; that was pretty ear splittingly loud. I heard the vampire dude give a sharp intake of breath at the noise, what was he thinking? Did he have friends in there or something? Then again he did say we were waiting for others, but who on earth could we be waiting for? And what on earth was going on in that school? The questions couldn't quite stay on the tip of my tongue.

"Okay buddy, you'd better tell me what's going on or I'll-"

"There they are." He cut me off, shielding his eyes from his the sun and scanning the front gate. "The name's Nico by the way." He added with a grumble.

I followed Nico's gaze toward the gate and my mouth widened when I saw Rebecca being given a piggyback by one of the assistant teachers that had popped up last week, Benton I think. He was a guy in his twenties who was a little pale lanky guy, he had a hair of bright brown-orange hair and a scruff of similar hair on his chin. He was pretty cool I guess, he had talked to me a few times and popped up in my lessons now and again. But why was he giving Rebecca a piggyback? Why were there so many questions?

The two came across the fifty metres toward us so quickly I barely had time to blink. Nico had a relieved but serious face whilst Benton looked like he was itching to get out of here. Rebecca looked like she had just come off the world's best roller coaster.

"Again, again!" She chirped.

"Not now sweetie," Said Benton breathing heavily. "I don't think I'll be in shoes again for weeks."

I looked down at his feet curiously only to find, well hooves. Like, horse hooves. No wait… goat hooves. I felt like someone had just flipped my brain over and punched me in the stomach.

"What the hell are those?!" I yelled, much to Benton's annoyance.

"Benton's a goat Shane. Well actually he's a Satyr but that's no need to be disrespectful." Rebecca told me, frowning. Seriously, where did we find this kid?

"Please someone explain." I said putting a hand on my temple, trying to ease my confusion.

"You want to go first?" Nico asked, sharing a joking glance with Benton to which he just smiled and shook his head.

"You'll find out soon enough kid, just hang tight with the question okay?" Benton asked, grinning a dazzling white grin.

"Well hopefully we won't have to wait long, I'm not in the mood for fighting." Nico stated. "Where do you think the other three are?"

A third _boom_ sounded off from the school, making everyone's ears collapse in on themselves and the wall on the right of the school erupt in a shower of bricks and sand. Wait sand? "I think that's them." Said Benton exasperatedly.

Out of the hole emerged a guy with black windswept hair and green eyes that I could see from miles away, he was carrying an unconscious blonde girl in his arms. She was unmistakably beautiful, even with the huge gash running down her arm that was looking a little green. Hot on their heels was Jesse who you could also see from a mile away at his height, he was turning back every now and again at the wall, looking very stunned.

"Yeah I know that," I could just make out the dude with black hair saying. "But you just threw her through a wall!" Wait, what?

Jesse looked like he didn't quite know how to respond as they reached us gasping for air. "Empousa?" Nico asked them and the black hair guy nodded. The vampire dude looked shocked, the first emotion I've seen from him today.

"Jesse!" Exclaimed Rebecca as she ran over to hug him. How come I didn't get one?

"You ready?" Nico asked glancing behind them at the hole in the wall. Something seemed to be stirring in the blackness.

"Yeah." The black hair guy said, lifting the girl up and grabbing her hand. "Let's go."

"Right, everyone hold hands." Nico said, holding the other of the girl's hands and extending his other to me. Erm, no thanks. Everyone else was already doing so, Jesse with Percy and Rebecca who was also holding hands with Benton who was now looking at me expectantly. So was everyone actually. Rebecca didn't seemed to know what was happening but looked willing to follow wherever Jesse lead, they might as well be brother and sister those two.

"C'mon Shane!" Demanded Nico. "We haven't got much time."

"I don't even know you people!" I retaliated. How did they expect me to trust them so easily?

"Well unless you want to get to know that thing then stick around by all means." Said Benton whose cinnamon eyes that looked eager to escape, were directed to the hole. I looked to see a huge dog limp slowly out of the crumbling wall, staggering slightly and seemingly disorientated. Jutting out of the beast's side was a shining bronze blade.

"Percy, that yours?" Asked Benton.

"Yep." He replied, completely poker faced.

Two more of the dogs emerged behind the first who seemed to have found us and was attempting to make his way toward us. The other two dogs seemed to be either adjusting to the light or have a staring contest with the sun.

"Now's a good a time as any kiddo." Percy sighed impatiently.

There didn't seem to be any choice really, either get eaten by three giant dogs or take the hands of two complete strangers… and then get eaten by dogs. Seriously what was the point in this? Why don't we just make a run for it? I reach for the two's outstretched hands. It's not like we're going to teleport or something. I saw the three dogs closing in on us. My hand made contact with theirs.

The world just loves proving me wrong.

The instant I was touching both their hands I was propelled forward, not into the huge dogs as I expected, but into complete and utter darkness. The only thing I could sense was the touch of Nico and Benton's hands and the sound of rushing wind in my ear, yet I couldn't feel it. My face felt as though it were peeling off we were travelling so fast, or at least I think it was fast- I couldn't see a thing.

* * *

After about a century the shadows melted away and in its place formed luscious green grass and sloping landscape of a valley. We were sitting on the crest of a hill with a pine tree that overlooked the valley, in it were a variety of buildings; some were small and formed a big ring in one area, another was a four story cabin and beyond a few trees and I could see what looked like an ancient Greek style lunch hall. I could see a volleyball court and fields of what looked like either raspberries or strawberries. Everything seemed to have an unnatural glow to it as well, possibly because I'd spent what seemed like an eternity in darkness or I was starting to lose my mind. Both seemed equally plausible at this point.

Feeling my knees begin to shake I collapsed onto the grass beneath my feet, feeling it's comforting embrace and never wanting to get up again. What on earth had just happened? The rest of the group had done so as well, unfortunately that was also when the dogs reappeared.

A shock of black formed a circle in the air a few feet away from where we were sitting and out of it, sprang the three dogs, each about as big as a rhino. They landed on the grass somewhat sluggishly and seemed to find difficulty in standing. They found our position however, and quickly started converging in on us. This was it, we were going to die here. None of us looked able to stand now, Nico looked only semi-conscious and the rest of the group was extremely fatigued. I could already see myself in the dog's jaws, being chomped into small pieces. Percy was rummaging around in his pocket for something but couldn't seem to find whatever it was. We were doomed.

Until of course the arrows began sprouting out of the three dogs' side. The one closest to us was first to fall and in quick succession, the ones on its flank followed in suite. I stared at the remains that began disintegrating into dust and started question existence when a voice echoed across the hill from behind me.

"If you don't mind, I think you'd want to move a bit more into the borders."

Sprinting up the hill were half a dozen teens in orange t-shirts that read _camp half-blood_. Four of them held bows and had a quiver of arrows strapped to their back, the one in front who had an arrow nocked was a tall guy with sun kissed blonde hair. He looked pleased and annoyed at the same time. At the back of the group was a beefy guy with a heavy axe in his hands and a girl with stringy light brown hair and a strong build, a bit too strong actually, she looked like a professional boxer.

"You guys could have given us a bit more of a warning that you were coming. I mean a brief Iris message at nine in the morning isn't the best resource of information we could have had." Said the dude at the front.

"Yeah, I mean we almost got Annabeth and Benton eaten." Finished the girl at the back.

"Thanks Clarisse, glad to know you're still in good spirits." Percy replied with a smile, attempting to stand himself and Annabeth up- Annabeth still being unconscious.

"Wait. What's wrong with Annabeth?" Asked a girl who looked just like the dude in front, come to think of it, so did all the people with bows. Where they like quadruplets or something?

Percy's expression turned deadly serious. "Python, he attacked her this morning and I think he managed to poison her."

"Well we'd better get her to the infirmary fast." Said the tall dude at the front. He rushed forward and helped Percy carry her down the hill. "Take them into camp." He said gesturing from the group to us.

"I'll meet you guys later!" Percy called over his shoulder and with that, they disappeared over the crest of the hill.

We sat- and stood in the group's case- in silence for a moment. I looked across to the others; Jesse was slumped on his back staring at the sky and breathing heavily, Rebecca seemed to be mimicking him. Benton was shivering and looking longingly at the buildings in the valley. I looked at Nico who was glaring sulkily at the ground in both tiredness and anger. Then a question popped into my mind.

"How did those dogs follow us? And how on earth did we get here? In fact, where is here?" I asked.

Nico sighed and continued staring at the grass. "This is half-blood hill, home to camp half-blood," He gestured at the valley. "We're on long island and we got here through shadow travel, something I don't think I'll be doing again after that. As for the dogs, there's a brief period after you shadow travel where someone else can follow you. If they can Shadow travel that is." He nodded as if that settled it.

I was about to question this but a small blonde haired boy in the group spoke first. "I think you guys should come into camp, don't want another monster trying to eat you."

"Yeah," Benton replied. "I'll be considered a Faun before I find it in reason to sit out here. See you." He hopped off down the hill toward the Forrest and Nico rose unsteadily in turn.

"We should get going." He said. "We're inside the borders now, but that doesn't stop shadow travel."

I stood up as well, waiting for someone to give me a reasonable explanation. None came. "Get up punk's. I don't want to have to haul your ass into camp myself." Ordered the big girl named Clarisse, who was standing over Jesse. Rebecca jumped and shot up, looking both frightened and determined.

"Come on Clarisse, you'll give her a heart attack." Said Nico.

"Don't worry, I didn't mean you." She smiled at Rebecca who didn't seem to know what to do with herself. Neither would I if I were in that position, I couldn't tell if Clarisse actually meant it or not. She turned to Jesse who was still on the floor. "It still goes for you though."

Jesse rubbed his eyes and spoke to Nico. "Promise me that we'll never have to do that again."

"What?" Clarisse laughed. "You scared of the dark prissy?"

"No," Jesse sighed as he got up and stretched, standing far above Clarisse. "I just didn't want to have to look at you again."

She looked like she wanted to ram the spear on her back through the side of his head right there and then, but something changed in her expression and she laughed. Not mockingly but happily. "You've got spunk I'll give you that," She punched him on the arm. "You'd fit in well in my cabin."

Jesse smiled slightly. "We'll see, at least tell us what this place even is and what we're doing here."

"Well where do I begin?" Clarisse smirked and started walking toward the valley, we followed in suite with the rest of the group behind us. "Let's start with the gods."

Rebecca, who had come up at Jesse's side and slid her hand in his, spoke up. "I thought there was only one? That's what religion's believe."

A small eager crowd had gathered at the base of the hill we were striding toward.

"No little lamb, I'm talking about the Greek gods, they're alive and well. In fact I wouldn't be surprised if they were listening in on us right now." Clarisse grinned. I thought I had forgotten how to breathe. "This camp is dedicated to the safety and training of their children, for example… you three."

* * *

**Whew! That took forever but it's finally done. Looking back on it not much really happened but oh well, they're at camp now and that's that, I'm happy. Hope you lot are as well. :P big up to those of you who are back at school, I feel you. The distance between readers and writers is really weird, I feel like I know you all personally but I really don't. Then again it's kind of the same for you.**

'**hermes child awesomness' Thank you for continuing to follow the story, a lot of people seemed to have died in the last month :L 'Daughter of Athena 20' Thank you! I'm glad you're enjoying it and I hope this chapter meets your expectations, please tell me if it didn't. 'Jimsdale' The same goes for you as well, lots of gratitude and stuff :) haha seriously though my deepest thanks to you and everyone who is reading this, even if you don't have and account and just want to read it. Thank you so much. 'Guest' Glad you like it, it's an effort to write it at times but mostly just off the top of my head and enjoyable. **

**Thanks for reading,**

**Have a beautiful day.**

**Schönen Tag noch.**

**Avez-vous une bonne journée.**

**Miłego dnia.**

**Abbiate una buona giornata.**

**Ha en härlig dag.**

**Que tengan un buen día.**

आपकादिनअच्छाबीते**.**

ಶುಭ ದಿನವಾಗಲಿ**.**


	13. I nearly get stabbed

**Shane**

My mouth hung open in awe as we stopped dead three quarters of the way down the hill, the small crowd in front staring at us. The gods… Greek gods… were real. Surely she's lying. That's what half of me wants to think but the other half can't help thinking it's true. But how could it be? It's not like they would be able to hide their existence from the entire world. But then what were those huge dogs? I could feel my brain try to wrap itself around the idea, almost trying to make me believe it.

The three remaining quadruplets continued down the hill as if this were no big news to them and joined the crowd talking to others. The big guy with the battle-axe came and stood by Clarisse, facing us and Benton seemed to be standing idly by a tree. Nico was still on the hill. I could hear strange conversations from the group along the lines of: whose children we were, if we could take someone in a swordfight and- in a group of the most beautiful girls I've ever seen in my life's case- whether the tall guy was available or not.

"So let me get this straight," Jesse began. "You want us to believe that over two thousand year old myths are real. That these said myths are watching us right now. And what… Those things back there were some ancient monsters that were hunting us because we're children of these myths?"

"That's precisely what we want you to believe." Came a gruff voice from our left.

I whipped to my left to see a small porky guy with a red nose and big watery eyes. He had a short head of tightly curled black hair that I could've sworn was tinted purple. He wore a tiger pattern Hawaiian shirt and navy tracksuit shorts with brown sandals glued to his bright red feet. He looked what I imagined a comic redneck to look like.

"In fact," He continued. "That is what you _should _believe." He said it with such conviction and authority that I thought he would have me killed if I believed otherwise.

"Oh, Mr D." Clarisse said in evident surprise. "What're you doing here?"

"Obviously I'm having to fill in the blanks for these adolescents Miss La Rue." He replied lazily, swirling a can of coke that seemed to have sprung from thin air.

"What does the D stand for?" Rebecca asked, looking intrigued.

Mr D sighed wearily, not taking his eyes off the drink. "Looks I'm going to have to teach them some manners as well. Ever since that Peter Johnson showed up, all of the kids seemed to have lost all sense of common decency." He began to turn away from the group, talking to no one in particular. "I'll have to go see Chiron about the camp attending a manners course. All these kids never seem to be able to spot an important historic figure when they see one…"

His lecture was ended as he erupted into a ball of purple flames which died almost as quickly as they had been lit. The crowd around us seem to have no interest in the scene at all and acted as though it were a normal occurrence, unfortunately that wasn't the case for our crowd as Rebecca squealed and duck behind Jesse for cover whilst he seemed equally shocked. I guess I wouldn't have looked much better.

"I could've sworn he was relieved as camp director." Said someone in the crowd.

"Well looks like he loves us more than he lets on." Another voice said sarcastically.

"Dionysus." Clarisse sighed.

"What?" I responded.

"Dionysus. He's the camp director. Son of Zeus and god of wine, madness and all things festive." Clarisse told us. "Apparently showing off as well. Although don't let his appearance fool you, he could turn all of us into his favourite grape vines with a flick of his wrist."

The three of us just stood there in stunned silence. Rebecca had her mouth wide open in both awe and surprise. There was no way that was the literal Greek god. This must be some sort of prank they're pulling on us, there was just no way on earth…

"By the looks on your faces I'm assuming you stuck between believing us and making a run for the hill and getting as far away from us as possible." Nico announced, who had just seemed to appear out of nowhere. He looked even paler if that was possible but seemed determined to stay on his feet.

"Well it's not every day you're told something like this." Jesse disclosed, looking exasperated.

"Believe me, we all went through this when we were told." Clarisse smirked.

I found my voice. "Well if that means everyone here is a child of the… you know-"

"The gods." Nico finished.

"Yeah, um, whose children are you guys then?" I asked.

"Well Clarisse here is a daughter of Ares, god of war." Nico began, Clarisse looked proudly at us. That was pretty cool. "And so is Warren here." He indicated the dude with the battle-axe who grinned menacingly at us. "Those three with bows over there are children of Apollo and the group of girls gossiping in the corner," He pointed at the models I saw earlier debating Jesse's relationship status. "Are children of Aphrodite."

"What about you?" Asked Jesse, who had been staring at Nico the entire time.

"Well," Clarisse began after Nico didn't seem to want to say anything. "Nico here is the one and only son of Hades you'll probably ever meet."

"Well there's Hazel." Nico suggested.

"Pluto, it's a different thing entirely." Clarisse waved away. "Plus she's Roman."

"Not as different as you might think." Nico mumbled although with a small smile on his face.

"Roman?" Rebecca asked looking up from fiddling with her shirt. "You mean like ancient Roman?"

"Yes. There's another camp way out in San Francisco that is dedicated to the children of the Roman gods." Nico answered.

"Wait, so the Roman gods are real as well? I thought they were just the Greek ones but with different names." Jesse questioned.

"Well they are, but different personas of the gods." Nico said. "Don't get me wrong they are one and the same, but it's like they lead a double life in away. So one kid could be born a child of Hermes for example, but another could be a child of Mercury."

"That's so weird." I stated.

"Don't worry," Nico continued. "The gods get headaches over it as well."

A moment of silence.

"Wait, so how did you find out we were… you know…" Jesse started.

"Demigods." Nico supplied. "Well it was mostly coincidence. Annabeth and Percy were taking sort of vacation from our world." He gestured to the camp. "And just happened to the same school as you guys. I think the first indication we got was her grey eyes." He nodded to Rebecca who looked up confused.

"What's wrong with her eyes?" Jesse asked.

"Nothing's wrong with them," Clarisse butted in. "It's just children of Athena tend to have those stormy grey eyes."

"So do all demigods have specific eye colours?" Jesse said.

"Not necessarily," Nico expressed. "Just some more than others; like being a child of Poseidon means that Percy has sea green eyes, a child of Zeus would have electric blue and me being a child of Hades gives me these horrible dark brown eyes."

"I think they're pretty" Said Rebecca, smiling at him.

"Thank you." Nico smiled back but looking genuinely surprised.

I've come to learn that if there's anybody you could want to brighten up your day, it's Rebecca. I remember back when we first moved into our apartment when Jesse turned sixteen, we were supposed to have someone from social security to be checking in on us every now and again but that never happened. Anyway, when we first moved in it was a complete dump, the walls were peeling and the floors were so dirty we wouldn't dare walk on them. But she pretty much found the beauty in it.

After about a month we had the place looking like it didn't belong in the complex. Rebecca had been nagging Jesse to take them shopping to find things for the apartment and he didn't regret ever doing so, she was like a junior architect. Then again she did have Jesse running around the living room for about an hour with a sofa trying to get it into the right position.

A short while passed whilst we took everything in, the crowd had begun to disperse and they all headed in the direction of a cluster of building that formed a sort of circle. The building were all designed differently, some in solid gold and others in grey stone with what looked like seashells in the walls. I wonder if those were the houses for the different demigods. I could see the seashell one was probably fitting for a child of Poseidon, seeing as he was god of the sea.

"We should probably go meet up with Chiron now." Said Clarisse after saying something to Warren.

"Yeah," Nico replied as we began walking across the field to a big three storey house with a pointed roof and decking around the outside of it. I could hear the light chatter of distant people and a small sharp clang, like a sword fight was going on somewhere. "So… any questions?"

"Yeah actually." I said. "Do you know whose children we are and whether we are actually demigods?"

"Well, you wouldn't be inside the camp now if you weren't." Clarisse answered with a stern look. "The camp borders see to that, they're enchanted to keep monsters and mortals away. And in answer to the first question, no we don't."

"I thought you said Rebecca had the eyes of a child of Athena?" Jesse stated bluntly, his own eyes as hard as stone.

"Yes but it doesn't always apply to just them, usually it does but there are odd occurrences now and again." Nico stated.

"So, how are we going to find out?" Rebecca asked, excitedly.

"Well, we'll have to let your parents claim you. We made a pact to make sure the gods claim you by thirteen and by the looks of things they haven't exactly kept their word." Said Nico, looking at Jesse. "How old are you Shane?"

"Fourteen." I retorted.

"Yeah, hopefully it should be soon though." He sighed.

"Why wasn't I told before? I mean I'm pretty sure I'd like to know that I'm the son of a Greek god!" I questioned.

"To keep you safe punk." Clarisse told me. "You'd be much more noticeable by monsters if you knew who you actually were."

I heaved out a breath that had been waiting to be released for too long. It was too much to take in. They were basically telling me that my entire life was a lie, and no small one either. I looked across at Jesse whose face was masked with his usual poker face, not giving away an ounce of expression from his features. Rebecca was looking at the ground thoughtfully as we moved- light brown hair falling around her small face, as if trying to count the blades of grass at her feet.

We reached the light blue painted house and climbed onto the wooden decking which creaked slightly as we stepped onto it. Clarisse took a peak through the door and shook her head, Nico had sat himself down on a lawn chair and lay back with his eyes closed. He looked immensely grateful for the seat. Warren was leaning on the support of the decking's roof. He smoothed down his black hair although considering he had a buzz cut, it didn't look particularly effective.

"I don't think he's here." Clarisse said.

"Chiron?" Jesse asked.

"Yeah." Clarisse replied.

Over on the other side of the porch was a half-finished game of pinochle. Beyond that in the distance I saw the sun hanging just above the treeline, illuminating the camp and partially blinding me as well. I could see a volleyball court's sand glinting at me and a streak of white as the ball flew in each direction. The kids there didn't seem that old.

"There he is." Warren stated gruffly.

I took my eyes off of the view and trained my eyes to where Warren was gesturing, and I could see some sort of horse moving towards us. But, with the upper body of a man. You know like those things in myths… what're they called?

"A centaur!" Rebecca exclaimed excitedly.

Yeah. Those.

As the centaur approached us I could make out his thinning long brown hair and bushy eye brows set just above his intense brown eyes. He looked middle aged but had the look of someone who had been around much longer than his apparent age. I couldn't quite keep my eyes from widening with shock, it was so strange. Seeing a half man half horse. Although I doubt you would believe me if I told you, it's just something you have to see.

"Ah, these must be the new arrivals." He said with a broad smile, standing in front of the decking. I noticed a few fading scars on his arms like was he in a battle or something recently. "Welcome to camp half-blood. Safest place for demigods, satyrs and nymphs alike; if you'll excuse our Roman counterpart of course. My name is Chiron."

"Wait," Jesse started. "_The_ Chiron. As in Hercules' trainer?"

"Yes," Chiron replied with a sigh, as if being reminded of a bad memory. "The very same."

"But doesn't that make you like two thousand years old?" I asked.

"Again, yes. Although living hundreds centuries isn't always a good thing." He said with underlying experience backing his words. He stared right through me with his piercing brown eyes. "Now, I understand you three have not yet been claimed by your parents and I believe Clarisse and Nico here have told you about the reality of things here."

"Yeah," Jesse replied. "But it's just really hard to believe that our entire lives were a complete lie."

"Not entirely, I take it you three have dyslexia and ADHD?" Chiron enquired with a raised eyebrow as if already knowing the answer.

I gave a furtive look at Jesse and Rebecca, it was something we all knew we had but it was something we never really talked about. I usually used it as an excuse on teachers but Jesse didn't act like he had either most of the time, then again I don't spend a lot of time around him. Rebecca definitely had ADHD, but it wasn't like she was dyslexic, or least as far as I knew.

Chiron took our silence as a yes. "Well those coincide with your Greek side. Dyslexia- your brain is innately programmed for interpreting ancient Greek, not our modern day languages. ADHD- you are always fidgeting because of your battle instincts. Your reflexes can save your life in dire situations make no mistake."

"Oh, that really explains everything." I said sarcastically. I wish I hadn't.

"Well, let me prove it to you then." Clarisse said with a glare. She pulled a knife that was attached to her leg and threw it at me. Yeah, that's right. She threw a knife at me. Not hard but still enough to scare the hell out of me!

I felt like it was coming toward me much slower than it should though and I quickly jumped to the right. Yelling curses I regained my balance and stared in exasperation at her.

"Told you." She said pointedly. Her smug look quickly vanished though, and turned into a look of pure surprise. Although she wasn't looking at me, she was looking just above my head. So was everyone in fact. I looked up.

Floating above my head was a shining yellow pair of sandals.

With wings on.

**Well how boring was that chapter? I swear nothing happened at all, oh well. It's all going down soon. Oh yeah, sorry I haven't updated in a long time- although I'm probably going to end up saying this every chapter now- please accept my sincerest apologies.**

'**hermeschildawesomness' glad you're still enjoying this :) and don't worry I can relate with being inactive. 'Jimsdale' Me neither, it's just a bit difficult to find time to write now :L 'Guest' Thank you! Hope you enjoy this one as well.**

**Thank you very much for reading,**

**Have a beautiful day.**

**Schönen Tag noch.**

**Avez-vous une bonne journée.**

**Miłego dnia.**

**Abbiate una buona giornata.**

**Ha en härlig dag.**

**Que tengan un buen día.**

आपकादिनअच्छाबीते**.**

ಶುಭ ದಿನವಾಗಲಿ.


	14. Here we are again

**Percy**

Staring at her lifeless body, sitting on her bedside waiting and not for the first time. A few years back in the second Titan war when Annabeth took a knife for me and saved my life, she sat on a sofa in a plaza in Manhattan recovering from poison. Those were probably the longest hours of my life and in fact they still are. I knew she was tough but seeing her like this isn't exactly easy, even knowing she'll recover doesn't seem to give me much reassurance.

I sat in the infirmary alongside Annabeth's bed fiddling with a recently returned riptide, the smell of nectar surrounding me. Light streamed in through the windows illuminating the room in a bright glow. After Will had helped Annabeth here and- along with a few other Apollo campers- treated her wounds, decided to give me some 'privacy'. Although right now I wouldn't argue against any company.

Annabeth's wound luckily didn't run deep and the poison hadn't gotten far enough into her bloodstream to cause any real harm, but she would be spending awhile in the bed along with an Ares camper across the room who had fallen off of the lava wall.

I pushed a strand of blonde hair away from her closed eyes; that had slight dark circles running underneath them like shadows. Barely visible.

"Is she going to be alright?" Came a voice from behind me.

I looked back to see Malcolm, one of Annabeth's siblings standing in the doorway looking a little sorrowful. "Yeah," I answered with a small smile. "Hopefully she'll be beating me up again in no time."

He grinned back and came over to us, pulled up a chair and sat facing Annabeth. His blonde hair out of its usually tidy appearance and sticking out to the side a bit. "You know Percy," He started, his gaze lingering on Annabeth before confronting my own. "When you first came to camp, I knew you were trouble. Just like all the other children of the big three. The fact that Annabeth went on a quest with you didn't exactly help your case, especially when she started spending more time with you."

His steely grey eyes never wavered once. Although he wasn't exactly one of the camps best fighters, I felt like he could pummel me through the floor right now. Just like his sister.

"I didn't want her getting herself killed," He continued. "And I didn't feel like I could trust you at all. But now, after two wars and you two going to Tartarus and back, I know that I couldn't ask for anyone better to look after her."

I didn't know what to say. I probably mumbled something intelligent like 'ummmmm' because Malcolm just smiled and laughed. "Don't get used to this, I don't think you'll be getting another compliment from a child of Athena any time soon." He said.

"Thank you." I replied, completely shell shocked.

Malcolm nodded and gave one last look at Annabeth before replacing his chair and saying goodbye, just before he walked out the door however he stopped and turned back to me. "Oh and Percy, this doesn't mean I completely trust you. If I find the two of you near the canoe lake again…" He let the warning hang.

"I wouldn't dream of it." I laughed. Malcolm grinned and turned out of the doorway.

I sat there for a while smiling to myself looking like a bit of an idiot, but I didn't care, everything seemed to be going back to how it should be and I couldn't ask for more. Eventually I fell asleep in the chair having missed out on most of my sleep this morning because of the Maths homework I doubted would ever be handed in…

* * *

_Running through the school halls, glancing into every classroom to make sure- drawing strange looks from those inside._

"_You sure you had Mechanics?" I asked Annabeth on my left._

"_Definitely." Annabeth replied, but with a furtive glance at her arm. The bite had swollen and was looking much redder than before. We had to find them before it was too late._

_Finally, after what seemed like an endless search, we rounded a corner and found the room we were looking for. Except so had two of the schools cheerleaders, the one half inside the doorway with distinct curly hair that I couldn't mistake. Kelli._

_Annabeth pulled us back behind the corner before they spotted us, I could just make out her high voice in conversation with the teacher. "Well we just need to borrow him for moment," The teacher replied with something I couldn't hear. "Sure, it'll only be few seconds." She replied and I could hear the lies entwined to her words._

_I could hear shuffling and the door close. "What?" I heard Jesse sigh impatiently._

"_This way." Kelli replied and her footsteps along with her friend's resonated off of the polished floors. After a groan Jesse's footsteps joined theirs._

_I peeked out and saw them going through the doors at the end of the hall and making a left. We followed in hot pursuit making sure to avoid being seen by anybody in the classroom. Looking round the corner we found Jesse with his back to three hellhounds, facing Kellie and her friend in their more sinister get-up. By that I mean they had the full flaming hair, fangs and bronze and donkey legs. There was a water fountain on the wall next to them._

"_Still another week till Halloween you know." Jesse said bluntly, although he couldn't mask the shock on his face. _

"_Hmph," Kelli grunted. "You know I thought it would have been an awful shame to have to kill you when I first saw you, but now… I can't wait to sink my claws into that pretty little face of yours." _

_Little didn't really seem the right word, I didn't even know if Kellie would reach his face. I looked at Annabeth and she looked like she had already assessed every one of our options thoroughly, she didn't look like she had the strength for any of them though. _

"_Improvise." She said. _

"_Don't we always?" I replied with a grim smile and turned the corner. "Hey ugly!" I yelled._

_Kelli quickly came out of her crouch and whirled around. "Jackson." She seethed, her friend hissed at our presence but Kelli managed to regain her poise. "Well… I can hardly pass up to two demigods for the price of one now can I?" _

_A cruel smile dictated her lips, as I wondered why she had said two. Then out of the corner of my eye I saw that Annabeth was still waiting round the corner with her sword ready; I tried to pretend I didn't notice and luckily it worked. Kelli barked something at her friend whilst she turned back to Jesse and I knew I would have to be fast. Impossibly fast._

_Kelli's sidekick flew down the corridor toward me in record speed but fortunately I wasn't too shabby myself, drawing riptide and feigning to attack but rolling to the side at the last second fooled her and she fell right into Annabeth's blade. I didn't have time to stay and admire our handiwork though, I jumped up and raced toward Kelli but she was already in mid-air, claws outstretched. I was too late…_

_Then something totally unexpected happened._

_A giant bat like creature flew over Jesse's shoulder and caught Kelli by the arms. "Not today honey!" Screeched Mrs Dodds as she slammed Kelli into the wall. She cast an angry "Go!" in my direction before wrestling Kelli to the ground, clawing at her back._

_I rushed past the two of them and ran toward Jesse who other than looking totally lost, had two hellhounds ready to pounce on him. I saw a water fountain on the wall and willed it to explode to which it willingly obliged and flew off the wall with a crash. Water gushed out from the new hole and I directed it like it was second nature, sending one of the hellhounds flying into the wall and the other into the ceiling. A slight crack appeared in the wall where the hellhound had landed._

"_What the…" Jesse started, his thick eyebrows raised and mouth agape._

"_Explain later." I stated and looked around to Annabeth who had come halfway across the corridor and was now leaning heavily on the wall with a pained expression on her face. The wound on her arm was flaring up badly now._

"_Percy." She said in almost a whisper before she fell forwards onto the floor._

"_Styx!" I yelled and rushed toward her and scooped her head up. "Annabeth? Annabeth!" I shouted, trying to get her attention but she was out cold. I looked up at Jesse who didn't look like he knew what to do with himself. "We need to go!" I shouted at him and he seem to jolt back to life as I brought Annabeth over._

"_Y-yeah..." He replied, sounding as though he couldn't even tell what he was saying. _

_A yell echoed from behind me and I turned to see Mrs Dodds hammer thrown into a cleaning cupboard and Kelli glaring murderously at us. "I'm going to enjoy tearing you limb from limb Jackson!" She bellowed._

"_Percy!" Jesse yelled and I turned to see the third hellhound leaping at him. Instincts kicking in I sprang up and stabbed riptide into the monsters side pushing it away from Jesse just as it was on top of him. It wasn't a clean hit however and as it landed next to its friend by the wall, it took riptide with it. The bronze blade still lodged in its side. Surely that should have killed it…_

"_Thanks man." Said Jesse panting._

"_No problem." I responded, turning back to Kelli. Unfortunately she had taken her moment and was nearly upon us already._

"_Time to die." She stated with an animalistic look in her eyes. _

_I had no weapon, I tried to will the water to help but I couldn't focus on it, Kelli was already in mid jump. Her claws outstretched and certain to hit their mark this time. Just as she was about to land on us Jesse's hand shot out like an arrow and his bear like hand clamped upon Kelli's wrist. Kelli's descent slowed and she landed in front of me, her momentum lost and her face in shock. She tried to attack Jesse with her other hand but she was too late. Jesse turned on the spot and launched Kelli or his shoulder like you would a dodgeball. She smashed into the already cracked wall but instead of the smack I expected to hear, an almighty boom resonated from the wall as she crashed through it. Her last cry dying away in the midst of brick and wall plaster._

"_Holy Hephaestus." I heard myself whisper._

_We stood in amazement for a second before I remembered we had to get Annabeth to safety._

"_Come on, we've got to go." I said picking Annabeth up and leaning her on my shoulder with her arm over my other. _

_Two of the hellhounds began stirring as we climbed out of the hole and into the light, completely forgetting about and angry fury still trapped in the cleaning cupboard._

* * *

"Percy." A gentle voice whispered in my ear and I turned over to escape it.

"I don't want to go to school." I mumbled unintelligibly.

A giggle met my response and the voice repeated itself. "Percy!" It said, although still quietly. It sounded like a girl's voice.

I opened my eyes slowly and squinted in reaction to the light that seeped through my eyelids. I found myself on the end of Annabeth's bed with my head resting in folded arms, still rooted to the chair. I looked toward the other end of the bed expecting to see Annabeth wide awake and smiling. But she wasn't. She was still motionless, propped up against her pillow, although the colour had returned to her face and she was looking much better than before I fell asleep. I sat up and looked across the infirmary looking for the owner of the voice but there was no one there. I ran a hand through my hair, feeling really confused.

"Behind you silly." The voice giggled.

I jumped and spun round to find the light brown haired little girl we rescued this morning.

"Oh, it's you." I stated- captain obvious strikes again. "What're you doing here?" I asked.

"Checking up on you." She beamed. "Jesse said he wanted to see how you were doing but he's still talking to the scary girl with the big spear, so I came instead."

"Well that means a lot to me, thank you." I smiled back at her. "I'm guessing Clarisse told you about what this camp is about?"

The smile on her face faded a bit as she seemed to try to form a logical response. "I… I guess so. She told us we were children of Greek gods, and that- and that you were a son of Poseidon." She spoke in awe.

"It's really not that big of a deal." I waved away, although technically my heritage had nearly torn Olympus apart. "How are you feeling about everything?"

"Okay I guess." She said after a moment of silence.

Another passed.

"Are you okay?" The girl asked cautiously.

"Yeah, I am. I just wish Annabeth would come round soon." I replied.

The light began glaring in from the window above Annabeth's bed, casting long shadows behind everything. A gentle breeze passed through the room as if someone had slowly waved a fan.

"Did any of you guys find out who your parent was?" I continued.

She squealed in excitement at this. "Yes, Shane had a little shoe with wings on it above his head!"

"Hermes." I smiled.

"Yeah! That's what- umm- Chiron?" She said slowly and I nodded. "Well he said that he was the god of messengers but I don't Shane would make a very good mailman."

"He's not just the god of messengers." I laughed. "He's also the god of roads, trade, pranks and… well, thieves."

She grinned at this. "That sounds more like him."

"Your name's Rebecca isn't it?" I asked her after a bit of silence.

"Yep." She chirped, popping the 'p'.

"Did you and Jesse find out who your parents were?"

"No," She sighed. "I really hope we do soon though."

"I'm sure you will…" I reassured her. I really wanted to ask her about her mortal parents but I knew now wasn't the right time.

"Rebecca?" Came a deep voice from outside.

Rebecca's head whipped round and a smile crossed her face. "That'll be Jesse." She said, hopping up out of the chair and running to the door. "In here!" She called, opening the door.

After a few moments, heavy footsteps rounded off of the wooden floors outside and Jesse came in through the doorway. He looked much more settled now.

"Hey," He said softly. "How's Annabeth doing?"

"Umm… Well she looks a lot better now than she did a couple of hours ago. What about you?"

"Apart from being told that the gods exist? Pretty fantastic." He chuckled. "Anyways we need to go check out our new cabins Rebecca, wanna come?"

"Yes please!" She said enthusiastically.

"Great, see you Percy! We'll be back a later." He grinned at me.

"See you later." I responded and with that it was just me and Annabeth again. I studied her face and from what I could see, she was probably going to come round soon. Although I can't be sure of anything nowadays, anything can (and usually will) happen.

That's when her eyelids fluttered...

* * *

**I admit it... I'm lazy and I'm incredibly sorry for being late; it's becoming a bad habit now. :( I'm going to end up saying this every time.**

**Anyways thank you to everyone who has reviewed and been supportive it's been absolutely amazing, I can't thank you guys enough I hope you all have a wonderful Christmas and a very happy new year to you all.**

**Thank you so much for reading,**

**Have a beautiful day.**

**Schönen Tag noch.**

**Avez-vous une bonne journée.**

**Miłego dnia.**

**Abbiate una buona giornata.**

**Ha en härlig dag.**

**Que tengan un buen día.**

आपकादिनअच्छाबीते**.**

ಶುಭ ದಿನವಾಗಲಿ.


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